The Daughter of the Dead Man
by siriuswriter
Summary: PotC: Dead Man's Chest, is not all that it seemed to be. One woman was left out of the story that we think we know to be true, and her tale is finally being told. This. Is what really happened. WOC COMPLETED.
1. Prologue

PotC: Daughter of the Dead Man Prologue

Some of this tale, you may know. Most of it will come as a surprise to you. As far as you know, the Pirates Captian Jack Sparrow and William Turner, the maiden Elizabeth Swann, and the former Commodore James Norrington, along with their crew, set out on a dangerous adventure to capture what was, to them, their deepest desire: the heart of Davy Jones himself, the self-proclaimed master of the sea.

But there is a part of the story that you do not know, one that has been carefully passed down through the generations by word of mouth and scraps of parchment, and sometimes at the point of a sword. Her story is her own, and now it will finally, in full, be put to paper. Who knows why it was not told before… perhaps people preferred to think that there were no reminders of those days when the seas were free, and men couldn't own what there was no solid claim on. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So it now, finally, will be told, and I shall be able to rest at last. She haunts me still, begging for the truth to be told. Maybe she'll finally be able to spend her death in peace, she will, along with her husband. The Daughter of the Dead Man.


	2. The Idiot

The first time I saw him, he looked like an idiot. There he was, wearing clean and polished clothes, looking like a man of wealth, picking his way gingerly among the filthy cobblestones of the red light district of Tortuga. Did he not have any common sense whatsoever? Did he not know that there were muggers, thieves, cutthroats, just waiting from him to round an unfortunate corner, to stumble, to slip? So what else could I do?

"You, there!" I called hoarsely. He didn't hear me. Obviously, whatever was occupying this man's mind was much too important for him to take heed of any urchin who was, in his mind, probably begging for a shilling or two.

I ran up to him then. Stood directly in front of him, and wouldn't let him pass. My filthy shoes stood toe to toe with his polished boots, and my green eyes stared directly into his brown ones. "You ought not to be about here."

He smiled at me. After all, what did I look like to him? Some common little street boy. Ordinarily, I would have been glad that my disguise worked out so well, but this was serious. Especially as I saw that one of the most notorious pickpockets, Renin, was beginning to appear from the shadows. Renin wasn't well known for being kind to resistant victims.

I was more desperate now. "Listen," I whispered. "You've just got to trust me. Follow me now, or you'll not have the wits to follow anything else again." He looked confused, off-balance, so I took the opportunity to fumble in the inside of his cloak and grab his hand, and started dragging.

He trailed helplessly after me, and I glanced behind, noticing that Renin had again retreated into the shadows. I hoped to God that he thought I had just recruited a customer for Madam, instead of depriving him of what was probably a well stuffed wallet. With this thought in my head, I began to run, my too-large trousers slapping against my legs. As long as I could hear the clip clopping of the boots behind me, I knew the man was still following me.

A few minutes later, we reached Madam's, where I worked as an errand boy. Scarlett was out in the courtyard, with a scowl on her face. "Rough night tonight," she muttered. "Oh, who's 'e?" Her heavily made-up faced displayed interest as I brought the man into the courtyard. "Wait a minute, I remember you…" her face, not accustomed to thinking, looked somewhat ridiculous. "You're the one that showed up with Jack, about a year ago that was, now wasn't it. Will Turner, wasn't it? " She addressed me. "Why'd you bring 'im 'ere, 'e won't do no business, 'e's too 'proper' for us… oh and go get me some lavender water, would you Kit? Be a dove?" She handed me some money and began to walk back into the house.

"Wait!" The man spoke for the first time. "Do you know where Jack is? I mean, have you… seen him? Anywhere? Heard about him? I desperately need to find him! Please…"

Scarlett turned 'round, and walked saucily back toward the man, who I now knew to be called Will. "No, I ain't 'eard from 'im. But when you see 'im, you can give 'im this, directly from me." And with that, Scarlett gave Will a great slap across his cheek, knocking his face to the side. She then whirled around and stalked back into the house, calling back, "Now Kit, you better not forget that lavender water, or I'll tell the Madam, and she's likely to give you three lashes for that. You're an errand boy, not an idler."

Will sat down on the stone wall that surrounded the courtyard, and suddenly, began to cry. "I'll never find him… never… never… she's gone from me forever." I walked softly up to him, and sat beside him, awkwardly patting his shoulder.

"Sir, this really isn't the best place… people will see… criminals will…"

He stiffened suddenly. "You're right. What was it? Kit?"

"Yes, sir. That's what people call me." I thought for a minute, gnawing over an idea in my mind. "Sir, if it isn't to forward, if you would like to rest in my room, for an hour or so, to… collect yourself?"

He looked me in the face, tears still streaming down. "Ye…yes. That's very kind of you, I think I shall take you up on that offer. Will you lead me to your chamber?" I took a second to laugh inside. If only he knew what I really was, that line would have such a different meaning…

"This way, sir…" I led him around the back of the house, where things hadn't been painted to look inviting. The back of the house was in great need of repair. The walls were crumbling, and plants had taken residence in the place where they had deteriorated. I reached the cellar doors on the ground, and lent down to open them up. "It's not much, sir. But there's a place to sleep, and I try to keep some food in the cupboard for reserve. There's some water in the pitcher if you'd like to tend to that mark on your face…"

He looked in the mirror, where there was, indeed a perfectly shaped red hand raising itself on his left cheek. "Thank you, Kit, for all your kindness. I have not seen much of it for a long while." His voice became distant, and so I decided to take my leave.

"I'll be back to let you out in two hours, sir. But I must lock you in. They're frightened of thieves in the main house, you know."

"Yes, yes." He sighed, then turned to the wall.

Poor fellow, I thought, as I made Scarlett's errand. I wonder what girl he misses so much. It would be nice to be so missed. And this Jack… I had heard of. Many times. From my father. But I wasn't prepared to think about that at the moment. Just now, all I wanted to think about was lavender water, so I procured it, paid for it, and brought it up to Scarlett, and passed Madam's room on my way back down the stairs. As I went past the door, a familiar voice sent chills up my spine.

"Madam, I thank you for letting me take up so much of your precious time, and at such short notice." The voice said. Oily, slice, and frightening. It was Renin.

"No problem at all, my dear sir, business is slow tonight, I'm afraid. The times are getting to us all."

"Indeed Madam, indeed. In fact, that is what I have come to speak to you about. I have reason to believe that your errand boy, Kit, has, just this evening, taken away business from both your illustrious establishment, and mine."

"Now, Renin, this is a serious accusation. Our Kit has been with us for two years and served us very faithfully the whole while. We would hate to have to train new help."

"I agree, Madam, new help is very hard to find nowadays. But let me explain my situation…" and they began whispering for a period of time.

I was stuck to the opposite wall like a stone in a horseshoe. He knew. I was lost.

"Ah, now Renin, that is something to be reckoned with. I do see what you mean. Alas, and Kit was such a good errand runner. Could get my tea done in five minutes, and have it to me piping hot. Ah well, such is life. Now you think that under your tutelage…?"

"He'll be as good as new in under three weeks. Just go easy on the long-distance errands for a bit."

I couldn't stand it anymore, it was as if my knees were melting. I slumped to the floor. But then, I just had to move. I ran down the stairs and took the kitchen path into the cellar, which I had been instructed never ever to do. I shook awake Will Turner, who had been slumbering on my small cot.

"Sir. Whatever voyage it is that you are going on. Take me with you."

"But… I simply just can't…"

"Oh, yes you simply can. I saved you earlier from a man who was going to rob you, and probably mutilate you in the process, and he knows. By God, he knows. You MUST take me with you, don't you see? Otherwise…" I trembled. "What was intended for you will be put upon me. And that cannot happen. It just… CANNOT!"

"My dear child… I'm…"

"I'm NOT a child! Dear Lord help me explain this…! I cannot be taken away, it would not just be a broken leg or arm…" In a fit of rage, I knew what I had to do. I ripped off my cap, and let my long black hair tumble to my waist. I grabbed a hunk of hair in my hands and forced it into his face. "Do you see? Do you see this? I'm not an errand boy!"

"But…" he stared at my chest.

"Bindings…!" I ran to my closet and pulled out lengths of white linen. "Are you so dense that you do not understand what would happen to me if I were taken away by the most evil criminal in this cursed city?"

He knew it then. He had to take me with him. "You must travel as a boy. We must keep this a secret."

"You think I don't know that?" I snapped at him. I expertly tucked my hair back into my cap, and gauged his reaction. I knew that he was grudgingly admitting that the transformation was convincing.

"We are trying to find Captain Jack Sparrow, so that I may persuade him to give something of his to me. So that I may bargain that object for my love's prison sentence."

"What did she do?"

"NOTHING!! Our association with Jack Sparrow alone made us criminals. I was let out to try and find this object. This… compass."

"It sounds pretty suspicious to me. Upon whose orders?"

"Lord Beckett's." Each syllable came out like a spit.

"Ah. This compass must be pretty special then, eh?"

"He said it pointed to whatever the holder wanted most." He sounded disbelieving.

"And you don't think that's true."

"It's too fantastic. Along with all that rubbish about Davy Jones' Locker…"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Why, you have personal acquaintance with the fellow or something?"

I couldn't answer. Luckily, I didn't have to, because Will began to load up his gear. "You have anything you need to take, get it now. We leave as soon as you're done."

I made a swift move to the closet, and gathered up all my bindings, caps, and extra clothing, as well as all the food I had snitched from the kitchen. A dagger, a sword, a pistol.

"I'm ready. And, Will?"

"What, Kit?"

"I'd head out toward the fishing docks if I were you."


	3. True Selves

As we threaded our way through the dark streets of Tortuga, I judged that the sun would begin to rise in about a half hour. The fact made me take a deep breath in: Tortuga at night, on the streets, as a woman, even disguised as I was, wasn't the best place to be.

Will, had until then, been stoically silent, but he noticed what must have been my audible breath. He nodded to acknowledge my presence. Why, thank you, Sir High and Mighty, who, just a bit ago hat been sobbing his eyes out on a stone wall. I began to move forward. "The fishing dock's this way."

He moved with me. "How did you come to be here, anyway, Kit? Is it even Kit?"

"No, as a matter of fact, it's not. I'm here because the alternative is much less peferable."

"What could be less preferable than disguising your true self, facing senseless danger day after day, working in a whorehouse, even if only as an errand runner, in one of the most filthy cities on the face of the earth?"

"Apparently, you haven't faced much hardship in your life, Mr. Turner. The alternative, though perhaps more comfortable, though perhaps more reputable, though perhaps cleaner," I spat out this last word like a vile taste, "would be less true to myself than I am right now, cap, bindings, and all. Something you couldn't possibly understand, if your greatest challenge is fetching a compass so that your bonny lass can get her bony bum out of a jail cell, and you two can go back to living in a grand mansion on a hill, overlooking the cove."

He stopped short, and looked as if he would slap me. I think he would've if he still thought I was the boy Kit.

"You have no idea… no right… to judge me about my 'true self.' How's this for true selves. My father was a pirate. Yes, a pillaging, plundering, stealing, swindling, pirate. And that makes me one too. So don't you dare…. Don't you dare preach to me about 'true selves.'"

We were now staring angrily into each other's faces. I paused, then started, still fuming, "Well, Mr. Turner, I think it's fair to say that we've both misjudged each other. But right now, we have a common goal: to find Jack Sparrow. Shall we carry on?"

I turned on my heel and began walking again. The first rays of sun were coming up now, but I didn't want them now, ironically. I wanted the night back, the black, stormy night, to match my furious mood.

"Kit!"

"What!" I said, not stopping.

"I just told you I'm a bloody pirate! You, aren't scared? You don't want to turn back?"

That stopped me. Still not turning around, I said, "Mr. Turner, if we're looking for Jack Sparrow, than we've got a little more to be afraid of than pirates. And… 'I worked in a whorehouse,' remember?" I said, recalling his words and mimicking his tone. "I've had a bit more than a little contact with pirates."

The taps on the cobblestones told me he was finally starting to follow me. "I apologize. That was uncalled for."

I stiffened. "I'm used to it. Please, forget about it."

"No, I insist. Forgive me?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, all right. If you forgive me about the bony bum comment. I'm sure your beloved has a very nice… bum."

He laughed. "Agreed."

We set off together then, a somewhat more amiable mood having settled over the two of us. I noticed that he was walking just a tiny bit behind me, instead of the feet it had been before.

"There. The fishing docks." I pointed.

"That's very obvious. But what's not so obvious is what I'm supposed to be doing."

I sighed, and gestured for him to follow me again, this time slowly, cautiously.

"Bonjour! Comment ca-va? Il fait beau, n'est pas?" Hello! How are you! It's beautiful today, isn't it? I said cheerily to the men busily working at the docks, sorting the dead fish out of the nets. There was one sitting by the edge of the dock, who was keen on his shrimp net. He looked like a likely one. I walked up to him, and sat down cross-legged, then proceeded to help him sort out the shrimp. Will was standing at the edge of the dock still, looking dumbstruck. I motioned for him to come over, to sit down, which he did, all very slowly and like he was made of wood. He looked at the shrimp like they were sort of some foreign objects, then decided to just settle his hands in his lap, while I struck up a conversation with the man, whose skin was so black, that it seemed to be reflecting the bright sun.

"Alors, comment travaille? So, how's work?

"Ah, c'est travaille, vous saisez?" Oh, it's work, you know?

I began to laugh uproariously, and made some eyebrow movements for Will to laugh as well, which he did. Although it came out rather haltingly, so it sounded more like coughing than laughing. My God, this man was dense.

"Mon ami et moi, nous avons trouver pour une homme. Est-ce que vous espies une homme autours ici?" My friend and I, we're looking for a man. Have you seen a man around here?

"Quelle homme?" Which man?

Here's where it would be tricky, if Jack had ever done anything to antagonize them, which was very likely.

"Il s'appelle Captain Jack Sparrow." His name is Captain Jack Sparrow

"Ah, mais oui, mais oui! Il a alle sur le mer juste un jour après samedi!" Ah, but yes, but yes! He went on the sea just a day before Saturday!"

"Superbe! Est-ce que vous saisez ou il a alle?" Excellent! Do you know where he went?"

The man furrowed his brow, then called another of the men over.

"Voila. Mon frere peut prendre vous." Here. My brother can take you.

The two men continued speaking in French for a while, and Will and I went to the edge of the dock again. "What the HELL just occurred?"

I smiled coyly. "What, you didn't learn French in finishing school? The man with the shrimp just saw Jack Sparrow pass through here trois, I mean three days ago. His brother is going to take us to him." I smiled triumphantly. "Now, aren't you glad you decided to keep me?"

Will, did, in fact, look overjoyed. His smile lit up his whole face as he said, "One step closer, Elizabeth, I'm almost there…" Then he looked at me. "Kit. Your name can't be Kit. That's a boy's name."

"To go with the boy disguise…?" I said, wondering again how many brain cells resided in this man's head.

"No no. You've got to have a girl's name, if you are, in fact, a girl."

"Nice catch, Mr. Turner." I said, smiling again.

"Oh do stop it with the 'Mr. Turner's," He said. "It makes me feel about a hundred. "Really, I want to know your name, you've been such a great help to me, and probably will continue to be. Please."

"Le bateau!" The boat! called the shrimper's brother.

"Damnit, looks like we're out of time." I grinned, heading off down the dock toward the boat. I took the navigator's hand thankfully as I stepped into the shabby-looking craft, hoping it was seaworthy enough to bear us to… wherever we were going.

Will stood at the edge of the dock for a moment, his back facing me. I could see him shake his head a couple of times. "All right, all right, I'm coming!" He got into the boat as well, shaking the whole thing, while the navigator looked at him sternly.

We pushed off the deck, headed to parts unknown. Well, I suppose one part was known. Jack Sparrow would be there.


	4. Will's Hat

The man, who gave is name to us as Jean-Pierre, had been rowing for hours, it seemed. In fact, probably only a half hour had passed, but the only action had been Will's hilarious gesture-talk to offer to take the rows for a bit, and Jean-Pierre's adamant refusal saying, "Le beateau est mon, n'est pas cette homme avec le chapeau grand." The boat is mine, it's not the boat of the man with the large hat. Which I absolutely refused to translate, but giggled about every time I recalled. Jean-Pierre refused to speak after that, setting his large lips in a grim line, and rowing rhythmically, on and on, in the open sea, to a place we did not know.

"This is fun, eh Will?" I quipped, nudging him in the side.

"Quite." He seemed offended at his offer of help being rejected by Jean-Pierre.

"You know, if a man gathers the wood, the pitch, and does all the labor, sweats and bleeds over a boat, do you really think he's going to hand it over to someone he doesn't know that easily?"

"I offered to help. I wasn't going to suddenly turn in the opposite direction, or poke a hole in it…"

"How does he know that?" I gestured at Jean-Pierre, who was now working up a heavy sweat. "Will, you're so naïve. He doesn't understand you. You live in two different worlds… all he's known from people who look like you are 'poking holes' in the things they value. He's worked hard for this boat, now he's working hard in it. He doesn't understand other people who think that things should be efficient, or easy, or convenient. You have to earn what you get. Like that hat, for instance. How did you acquire it?"

"I received it as a gift from my fiancee's father- the governor of where I'm from."

"…and would you call that 'earning' it?"

He seemed to be thinking. "N….no. I didn't do anything special do deserve this hat. It was just circumstance, just the circumstance that I was… am engaged to his daughter."

"Do you want to know what he said?"

"What?"

"Jean-Pierre. Do you want to know what he said?"

"Well, yes, I suppose, I don't really see what kind of relevance this has on the conversation…"

"…He said 'This boat is mine. It's not the boat of the man with large hat.' He earned the right to row this boat. You didn't. You earned the right to wear that hat, thus proclaiming to all that you didn't earn it."

"And why jump to that particular conclusion?"

"What use is there to such a huge hat, Will? What purpose? What point? To keep the sun out? No… a straw hat would serve that purpose more, as well as keep out the wind. That hat… is a vain hat. No one who needed a hat would buy it."

He looked flabbergasted. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then he took off his hat, and examined it. He brought the feather through his hand, so that it whisked through the wind. Then… he let it go. And the sea winds took it away, and it became a speck in a matter of seconds.

Jean-Pierre gave a great laugh- and handed Will the oars.

"Vous parlez anglais?" Do you speak English? I queried. That couldn't have just been coincidence.

"Un peu." A little. He answered back, and gave me a huge gap-toothed smile, then patted me on the knee. "Aussi: deux hommes, une femme." Also, two men, one woman. He gestured around the boat.

I gasped. "Comment est-que vous saisez?" How did you know?

He reached over and caught a strand of my hair that had become undone, out of my cap. I reached up, and sure enough, about half of it was coming out. These damn sea breezes may be good for flinging away vices, but they sure weren't going to work if I was going to maintain my disguise.

Will, rowing, had noticed as well. "Kit!" He said reproachfully. "I thought the caps…"

"With this wind? And you really think some flimsy cap will withstand a seastorm?" I was so frustrated with myself for not having thought of this ahead of time. But I couldn't cut my hair… doing that would be like cutting the last thread of my past life, and I just… couldn't handle that.

But Jean-Pierre, who had been rummaging through my rucksack, had brought out one of my bindings. I blushed, but he laughed, "Non, non." No, no. He then proceeded to bind up my hair, first winding it in the binding, then circling it around my head again and again, and finally knotting it. He placed the cap on top, triumphant. "Voila!" He laughed his huge, full-gutted laugh again.

The grin was suddenly replaced with a wary look. "Je apprends ici. Je ne fais pas continuer." I stop here. I don't go on.

"Mais…" But… I began, but he silenced me by holding up his hand. "C'est l'isle de morte. Je n'travelle ici." It's the island of death. I don't travel here.

"Mais ici est ou Jack est." But here is where Jack is. I confirmed.

"Oui…" Yes… he said warily… he obviously didn't want us to go. I had to catch up Will at this point, though.

"Will, it really doesn't look good, Jean-Pierre doesn't like the looks of this place. At all. They call it the island of death. He won't take us any further. But… he says Jack's definitely there."

"So there we must go," Will said with a resigned sigh.

"Je suis desolee, Jean-Pierre, au revoir. Et merci…" I'm sorry Jean-Pierre. Good bye, and thank you… I said softly, shrugging my shoulders. Will shucked off his expensive looking coat and prepared to dive in the water. He prepared to dunk the coat in the water, but Jean-Pierre reached out, saying, "Waste not…" and giving another of his huge laughs, while Will stared in indignation. "D'you mean he spoke… and you were…?"

"Yes to both. Now jump, before I lose my nerve."


	5. Antagonization

It wasn't a far swim, but being in the ocean again felt glorious to me. I reached the sandy shore far faster than Will, who stared at me in disbelief. Yes, I could see muscles through his now see-through white shirt, and he must have thought he would've had to help me to shore. I laughed to myself. I have more surprises stored inside of me than you will ever know about, Will Turner, so it might help to stop looking so blatantly surprised.

Speaking of see-through shirts, I looked down at my own. Damn. At least I had my bindings there, but my "big disguise" was getting less and less boyish. Although, I had to admit that Jean-Pierre's hair style had stuck firmly in place.

"So," Will began, a little out of breath, "where do we go from here?"

"I may have known about the fishing docks, Will, but I'm not omnipotent." I snapped back. "We could try walking around the beach for a while. If, indeed, Jack Sparrow is here, then his precious 'Black Pearl' won't be far behind. It will have berthed somewhere."

"How do you know about the 'Pearl?'" Will said accusingly.

I realized my mistake, and tried to recover quickly. "Who doesn't? That blasted pirate has been everywhere, or at least stories about him have. Captains have to have a ship, don't they? Ships have to have names, don't they? The one told the most is that one."

"I see." Yes, well I saw that Will wasn't entirely convinced.

I started along the white-sanded beach to get his mind off my knowledge about the notorious ship, taking my shoes off to make the journey easier. Will kept his boots on.

"You're going to get very tired, walking in those," I said. "It's better to let the sand mold your feet than to try to make your feet mold the sand."

"You're just full of philosophical ideas today, aren't you?" He said, amusingly. "Where do you get all of it from?"

"I've had a lot of time to think in my life, about life."

"Oh, yes?" he was interested.

"Yes." I wasn't talking about it anymore, though. And was, for once in my life, grateful to spot the hulking form of the "Black Pearl," pointing it out to Will.

"Yes, I see it." He snapped. "I'm beginning to wonder how it is that you always manage to evade my questions."

"Practice. Shall we go in here, then?"

"I suppose. It does seem to be the most likely spot. Though why has the 'Pearl' been brought all the way to sand?"

"Obviously, they wanted to get to land, desperately." I put my shoes back on, and headed into the dense jungle.

"What, don't want the jungle floor to mold your feet?"

"Actually, it's more along the lines of not wanting the snakes to bite them." I began examining the vines. "Go on, look for signs of your friends. Jack couldn't have come here all on his own. That boat is not a one-person crewer." I ran into something leathery. "What's this?" It appeared to be a canteen. I sniffed at the neck, and coughed. Blech. Rum.

"Please don't eat me!" A squawking voice said, quite close to me. "Please don't eat me!"

"What the hell?" Will came over to stand by me. "It's… Why it's Mr. Cotton's parrot!" He held out his hand, and the colorful bird fluttered over and landed on his forefinger.

"Please don't eat me!" It repeated piteously.

"I'm not going to eat you," he said, stroking it under its beak.

"Will…" I began nervously. "Parrots repeat what they hear…over and over again…"

Before Will had a chance to react, a skinny brown man jumped out of wilderness, seemingly from out of nowhere.

"Don't worry Kit, I'll protect you!" Will said, drawing his sword.

"Like hell you will, I'll protect myself!" I cried, drawing my own.

We stood next to each other, both our swords unsheathed, facing the single man, who had extraordinary markings all over his face, and was dressed in nothing but a loincloth.

He cried out something we couldn't understand, but got the drift soon enough as we were soon surrounded by similar looking men, all with dangerous looking spears, now all pointing at us.

"Good idea Will. Draw your sword. Antagonize them. Just. Peachy."

Now we stood back to back, holding our swords out in front of us, circling slowly, glancing our blades off the spears. Why were they not attacking us? I circled round to the first man, and the answer became clear as he brought a blowpipe to his lips.

"Will cover your neck...!" But it was too late. Everything was going dark….

I woke up slowly, sleepily. There was a pounding in my head, and I held my hand up to it, which made a strange jingling noise. I stopped my hand midway, and looked. My arm was covered in gold bangles, there had to be at least twenty of them. I looked down at myself. Obviously, the natives here hadn't been fooled by my disguise at all: I was now wearing a very soft, very white plain linen shift, with a gold belt just beneath my bosom, and a gold chain around my neck. My hair had been let down, and was in its natural state, which is to say, softly curly. My feet had bangles too, and I was wearing gold sandals. What. The. Hell.

I was suddenly aware of another presence in the room. I looked around me for something to defend myself. And found nothing. What could I do? Hit an assailant with a bangle? I took the chain off my neck, prepared to strangle whoever it was, if they tried to do me any harm.

"Ah, love, you've ruined the whole effect." The voice I did not want to hear again, ever in my lifetime.

Jack Sparrow.

Except… he looked… odd. For one thing, his hat was missing, and I had never, ever known that to happen. For another, his face was all painted up, all sorts of bugs and things adorned his visage, and about three pairs of eyes had been painted close to his real ones, including, I could see as he blinked slowly, an pair on his eyelids. And he looked a little, was it frightened? I had never seen that emotion on his face before.

"Jack Sparrow. You… you…"

"Love, I've heard them all before, really, so why continue?"

"…Because you deserve it. Whatever it is, whatever you're scared of, you deserve it. And where the hell did you stash Will?"

He put his filthy forefinger up to my lips. "What's this? A dirty mouth? Ah, we can't have that now, can we? Hope it was my corruption."

I slapped his finger away. "Don't you dare touch me, you filthy excuse for a human being. Or wait, shouldn't that be up right about now?"

His bravado crumpled, and he flopped in a chair. "How do you know?"

"I was there, wasn't I? Wasn't I? That was the first time… you saw him. You just could never turn down a dare, could you? I was just a child… and you brought me to him." I could feel hot tears forming in my mouth. "I remember the deal exactly. "Ten years of captaincy of the Pearl, and then your soul is his. And you probably never thought that day would come. Well here it is, Jack Sparrow. And I can honestly say that I am glad to see you playing the coward and hiding on land. But sometime, you're going to have to go back out there. We both know it. And when you do…" I knelt down beside him. "I will watch him take you down with him."

That last seemed to arouse him out of his slump. "And what of you, love? D'you really think he's going to just let you go? He's not been sitting idle, you know. He's still planning it."

It was my turn to self-depress. "What d'you mean? That's not possible! You know that the Gryffin would never take the offer of a missing woman!"

"… a missing woman disguised as an errand boy in Tortuga?" He laughed. "Love, he's been saving that ten-year exception for a very special trip. But now, it looks like he won't have to."

"You're not going to… you wouldn't dare, Jack Sparrow. I've changed. I've learned to defend myself with sword and pistol. I'd fight to the death before I'd go back there."

He shrugged. "That'd be sad then. I'd hate to kill a woman."

Here, I grinned. "But I won't have to fight you, Jack Sparrow. Don't you know what this tribe does to their leaders?" For I had assumed that the privacy had been requested by "the leader" of the tribe.

"A small trifle. I've got a plan."

"That most likely includes a dead or dying Will Turner. I'm right, aren't I?"

"No, as a matter of fact you're not. Your first impression of me has, in fact, changed over the years. I'm just going to make a distraction, than sidle out."

"A distraction? Which I assume includes me."

"Of course. Use the resources at hand, I always say. Especially if they're as charming as the ones at hand at the moment." He reached out to finger my belt, and I reached out to slap his face. Hard.

I looked around quickly, while he was recovering from the shock, and spotted a large, knobbly staff at the side of the chair, which I quickly grabbed, and hit Jack hard on the head with.

"I apologize, Jack Sparrow," I said sarcastically, "but you're going to have to make your own 'distraction.'"


	6. Balls

After kicking Jack Sparrow firmly in the gut with my golden sandals, I began to search for my old clothes. I certainly did NOT want to be gallivanting all over the island in the get-up I was now wearing. I started by removing the jewelry, but thought twice about it. If this was real gold, which it was likely to be, than it could be of great value in the future. I slid off all the bangles and counted them. Twenty for each appendage made eight solid gold bangles, plus the ornate belt, plus the gold chain. I found my rucksack in the corner, which was now empty but for my weapons, and put the gold inside. I was rich, but still dressed as a girl, and these sandals weren't likely to last the jungle for long.

Suddenly, I grinned, walked up to the unconscious Jack, and yanked his boots off his feet, carefully holding my head away from what was sure to be the stench of the lifetime. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't so bad, in fact, I was able to tie my sandals on his feet without gagging even once. Pulling on Jack's boots, I strapped the sword over the linen shift, pulled the rucksack over my shoulders, and made my way to the door.

I peeked through a crack in the wood. It seemed there was no one out there, so I slowly pressed my hand against it until the door was slightly ajar. There was no accompanying movement in the bushes, so I kicked it open with my now-booted foot. Again, nothing happed. Confident that no one was indeed out side this side of the shack, I took a tentative step out, and looked around me.

No wonder no one was there, I was facing the slim edge of a craggy cliff. Anyone who had tried to run out that way would have fallen to their doom. I sidled around the edge of the cabin, keeping myself as firmly pressed to the edge of it as I could, my cursed dress fluttering in the wind. Having made it safely around, I decided that my best course of action would be to follow the cliff around: I'd be able to have the best view of the island, and would eventually come to a bridge, or a place to climb down, or something.

So I was obviously completely surprised, not ten minutes after the cabin had disappeared from my view, when I came to two huge ropes, which were tied to two rocks not far from the cliff's edge. I cautiously walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked over. There, two sort of weaved-looking balls hung, and voices were talking.

"What happened to the other crew mates?" I heard a familiar one say.

"These cages were made AFTER we arrived here." A voice with a gruff timbre replied.

There was a moment's pause. "We can't just stay here. Can't Jack do something to save us?"

The gruff voice answered. "Personally I'd be a little more worried about Jack than us, at this moment," it said, "This tribe thinks he's a god. And they're going to want to release him from his earthly body, to feast on him, just as soon as those drums stop beating. When those drums stop, Captain Jack Sparrow will be dead and gone."

At this point, I leaned over the cliff. "It's JUST Jack Sparrow. NOT Captain." I yelled down at the weaved balls.

"Kit? Is that you? It's Will. We're kind of…stuck down here." Hah. So that voice was familiar. I felt a sense of wild relief go through me... so he wasn't dead. Wait a second. What was that? This man was an upper-crust society member. These feelings were NOT going to happen.

"Yeah, it's me. Who the hell else would have the guts to be bashing Jack Sparrow out in public? And the whole stuck thing?? Kind of apparent."

"Kit, we could sure use one of your brilliant plans right about now…"

The gruff voice spoke. "Will… who's this 'Kit." And are you sure we can trust him? After all, someone who doesn't trust Jack…"

I yelled down again. "Her! Not him! And I'd be perfectly willing to walk away right about now, after all, this island has some very scenic places to…"

"Kit, shut up!" Came Will's voice again. "Mr. Gibbs. Without Kit's help, I wouldn't be here." He seemed to reconsider his remark. "I wouldn't have found you in the first place. She has also saved my life at least once, if not more than that. Damnit, listen to her."

I grinned. "All right, I think I've got it. Now, everyone see the vines on the side of the mountain?" I heard a general, mumbling assent. "You're going to use your combined weight to swing your way over and grab them. Got it?"

There was some muttering, and Will shouted up, "We think so. We'll give it a go."

It would have been amusing if their lives hadn't depended on it. The great weaved ball began to swing back and forth, slowly at first, and then faster and faster, and at greater lengths. They finally got up the distance to make it to the cliff, and I shouted down encouragement. "All right, men, you're almost there, just… REACH!!!"

They missed.

The ball swung back again, and swung even harder into the cliff. It made a thumping sound as it collapsed, and I held my breath. The ball stuck. I heard sounds of jubilation from it, and then the ball started to move slowly upward, as the men in it began to climb the vines.

Sitting in the glory of my success, I began to look around at my surroundings. And noticed a native boy standing on the bridge, looking out on at the view, his back to the slowly climbing ball.

My body turned icy cold. "Um, Will? Will!" I hoarsely shouted in that same voice of desperation that I had that first time I had tried to speak to him. This time, he listened. He was close enough to see my face. I gestured my arms over to the boy on the bridge, and heard the entire group of men take in a collective gasp. The ball stopped for a moment, and I hurriedly whispered, "No! Just. Keep. Climbing. You're a worse target if you're hanging AND trapped." So they did, as quietly as they possibly could.

But it seemed as if luck just wasn't with us today- the boy seemed to have tired of the view, and made a 180 degree turn, now staring directly at the ball, which was so close to the top of the cliff. His eyes widened in shock, and he suddenly cried out something.

"FASTER!!!" Will yelled, and the men began to climb the vines at due haste. They were at the top in a manner of seconds, but we could see multitudes of the island natives approaching in the distance.

I began to run, but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. "Kit…" Will began, his eyes wide. "You look…. You look… like a girl."

"Thank you very much, Will, but, I'm a bit more preoccupied with the facts that you and your crew are trapped in a ball of bones and we're about to be in close contact with some very angry natives than the fact that I'm in a dress. Can we please begin to run now?" I snapped, swiping his hand off my shoulder, picking up my dress to knee-height, and head-tailing it out of there. The men, amusingly, did a similar thing with the ball, hiking it up around their knees, and began to run after me.

"Where are we going?!?!" Will panted

"We don't have much of a choice! I don't have a map of the island on me!" I said, still sprinted, dodging the trees. The men were having a harder time of it, not being able to dodge much of anything. I stopped them for a few precious seconds. "Look, you have to get out of that thing. Separate into two halves on either side of it, then run the middle of it into a tree."

"What??" Mr. Gibbs cried out

"You heard me! Just do it!!"

A few moments later, the men were all running individually, and the bones of the ball were scattered on the ground.

The natives, however, had the advantage. They knew the island, and soon had us cornered onto another cliff. Behind us, a dark pool of water lay, with sharp rocks looming everywhere. They already had their blow-pipes out when Will whispered. "Listen. I've just come up with a brilliant plan of my own. Just jump, and head for the right as soon as you can."

Soon after, I put my hands up onto a smooth ledge of rock, and felt someone lifting me up. "Thanks Will. You were… almost brilliant back there." We pressed ourselves against the wall, hearing the blow darts zip past inches away.

"So were you, Kit. So were you." He smiled, then turned bright red. Immediately, so did I. Ah, the qualities that water has on white things. I crossed my arms over myself, and said, "Damn," quietly, while Will took off his brown vest and handed it to me. "Thanks." I said softly. "Especially before…" I gestured as a few more members of the crew popped their heads out of the water. Before they were totally on the ledge, I whispered, "It's Catherine."

He looked surprised. "I really didn't think you would ever tell me."

"You earned it." I said in the same soft voice. Than was almost completely knocked over by a pat on the back from the gruff man who I know knew to be Mr Gibbs.

"Kit, was it?"

I forced myself to be all bluster again.

"Yeah, it was."

"I'd like to shake your hand." He stuck his own out, and I shook it firmly. "You got any pirate blood in your veins, Kit?" He grinned.

"You have no idea," I told him.

Will looked intrigued, but then said, "We can't stay here forever, we've got to get back to the 'Pearl.'"

"What about Jack?" Mr. Gibbs looked worried.

"I have a feeling he'll find his own way back." Will looked rather bitter as he said it.

We waited till the last of the blow darts whizzed past us, during which time Will introduced me to the crew (Cotton, the old, mute man, and Marty, the very short one were the only ones that I remembered) then slipped into the water again, me having first firmly fixed together the Will's brown vest.

I came out onto the beach first, followed by Will, then the rest of the crew, very close to the "Pearl," and was very surprised to see two men, one skinny, one fat, trying to climb the ropes that led to her deck.

I drew my sword immediately, and held it to the skinny one's throat. Apparently, Will had the same idea. "Pintel, you scoundrel, trying to take the 'Pearl' for your own? And how, exactly, was that going to turn out? You know it takes more than two people to crew it."

The skinny one spoke nervously, only one of his eyes, the other obviously wood, glancing nervously at my sword. "Well, we sort of figured that Providence would guide us, didn't we Pintel? I mean, it got us out of prison, didn't it?"

The fat one spoke next. "Ragetti. Shut. Up. About Providence. We're pirates, it obviously don't apply to us when we've broke ev'ry rule in the book."

"Not ev'ry one!" said Ragetti defensively, "we ain't broke the one about… well, yeah, I guess ev'ry one."

Will lowered his sword and sighed, then motioned for me to do the same. "Obviously no harm to any one but each other. I suspect you've come along to join us, then?"

"Depends where you're goin', don't it." Pintel said.

"Act'lly we'll take jus' abou' anywhere. We're really desp'rate." Ragetti corrected.

Pintel turned toward him. "You weren't supposed to SAY that part, you idiot! Hones'ly, 'ow'my supposed to be a good pirate with 'im around all the bloomin' time?"

We left them to squabble as they boarded, and the crew began to board the ship as well.

"Will," Mr. Gibbs called down from the deck, shouldn't we be getting off this island? The tide's about to turn, and I don't like to stay here another night…"

"I don't want to leave without Jack!" Will called back.

"Are you serious?" I said. "That man was responsible for getting you in that horrible situation in the first place. Aren't I right? Well?"

Will shrugged. "Yes, but he's the only way I get the compass…"

"Thus getting back your beloved. Don't worry I remember the story." I began to walk away, my feelings seriously hurt. Didn't Will see what a horrible person Jack was? Couldn't he understand this simple thing? I made my way toward the ship, and began to prepare to board, when I heard a sort of rumbling noise. I turned around, and laughed.

There. Was the famous Jack Sparrow, running for his life, thousands of island natives running after him with all manner of weaponry. He was clearly screaming his head off. I pointedly looked at Will, who began to move quickly toward the "Pearl."

"All right, you're right, as usual. Time to go!"

Mr. Gibb's began calling out the usual commands. "Hoist the anchor! Cast out the mainstay!"

But Jack had made it to the ship just as it began sailing away, grabbing a hold of the nets on the side. "My children, this is the day you will always remember, as the day that you almost ate…" but a wave had splashed up and caught him in the face. As it abated, I saw a great scowl on it, as well as the elaborate paint designs now smudged.

I began to laugh as if I had seen nothing funnier in my entire life. Even Will let out a chuckle or two.

He climbed the nets dejectedly, soaking wet, and hopped onto the deck. He emanated the attitude, "anyone say anything, and you die." He saw Will, and said, "Grand, lad, glad you escaped! Now, about this compass…"

Then he saw me.

I looked pointedly down at his feet, which were still adorned in the golden sandals, then down at mine, which were wearing his boots. He rubbed his head thoughtfully.

"Ah, love. You shouldn't have done that, you really shouldn't have. But, it all turned out all right in the end, and all's well that ends well, as they do say, so let's make it up, shall we?" He sauntered over, and proceeded to kiss me. On the lips. Hard.

When he pulled back, I don't think he was prepared for the look of fury on my face. Or on Will's. Who's hand was on his sword.

But I slid it off, a plan in my mind, and made a "cool it" gesture to Will.

"Ah, Jack, exactly what I had in mind. But that was hardly strong enough!" I leaned in, as if to give him another kiss, but put all my weight on one foot, tilting my hip. I think Will saw what I was preparing to do, as he tried to keep a smile off his face.

"Glad we could put the past behind us so quickly, love," Jack said, bringing his body closely to mine again, more closely than before. He puckered his lips, but before he had the chance to make contact, I did. I kneed him. Where it counted. Hard.

Jack groaned, and crumpled to the floor. No one stepped forward to help him, not after what I had done for them in the jungle. They figured I had my reasons, knowing Jack's reputation with women. Will laughed out loud, and Jack shot him a look of "how dare you make fun of me in my ultimate time of pain."

I then retreated into a certain cabin on the "Pearl." I had, after all, stayed here before. And assumed Jack wouldn't mind if I took up my old quarters. I would certainly make him feel it if he did.


	7. Her Story

I was just sitting on the bed in the cabin, looking around me. I had discarded Jack's boots at the end of the bed, and had carefully folded Will's vest and placed it beside me. I was now sitting cross-legged and bare-footed. It was all so eerily familiar. I remembered how Jack had led me here so many years ago, had placed my rag doll on that table over there by the window. It hadn't taken much convincing that "going for a boat ride" would be fun, and I knew that we were taking the same path. This time, without the illusion that it would be enjoyable.

I walked slowly over to the table across the room, over which a window to the sea was placed. The sea was calm now. I smiled to myself a bit, despite my predicament. I was so like the sea- quick to anger, with a deceivingly placid surface, yet with hidden depths and horrors and beauty. I leaned both my arms on the table and wondered what was going on above me. The footsteps on the deck were sometimes quick and purposeful, and yet some there were none at all.

But Will was up there, and that somehow made me feel safer. "Damn." I cursed these feelings inside myself. I hadn't felt them for ten years- besides, Will seemed to be already taken. Wasn't he on this whole journey for his "beloved?" I smacked the table with one fist, wanting it to hurt, wanting the hurt to go all the way to my heart to drive out this soft feeling that I had trained myself not ever again to feel. It didn't work, but the sound seemed to echo as I heard knocking on my door.

I walked over cautiously, my bare feet feeling the cool floor, shivering a bit in my shift. I opened it slowly, and stopped it at a few inches. Will's face, apprehensive, stood in the hallway. "Hello," I said softly, and opened the door a bit more. I was suddenly aware of how snugly the linen shift was, and this was, after all, the first time Will had gotten a look at it without being trapped in a ball or without me having the benefit of his vest over it. I crossed my arms self-consciously. He still stood there.

My old self made an appearance. "Do I have to issue a formal invitation?"

He stepped in, and closed the door gently behind him. I motioned at his vest without trying to uncross my arms too much. "Again, thank you for the use of your clothing."

He put it back on over his shirt. "It wasn't a problem. And will you please stop acting like we're strangers? Stop being so formal. It… it isn't like you, Catherine."

My brain did a flip. "What did you just call me?" I whispered.

"Catherine. You told me your name. I'm sorry. Was I not supposed to use it?" He sounded sorry. In fact, he sounded as if he was sorry he had come down here at all.

"No, no. It's fine. It's just that… no one's called me that in about two years." I sat down on the bed, and motioned for him to sit beside me. "I kind of like it, actually. It reminds me of something that I don't get reminded enough of."

Apparently, this had reminded him of what he had come to see me in the first place for. "Catherine, please." His tone was agitated. "Will you stop acting so goddamn mysterious? The first day I met you, I told you my deepest, darkest secret. And you wallowed in your privateness. Hell, I didn't even say anything when you treated Jack as you did. But now…" He gestured around the room. "Now, I think we've officially past the line of friendship where you need to tell me something. Apparently, you hate Jack. I don't blame you. Apparently, you've had a horrible past. So've I. Until I was 11, I was on a pirate ship, working with my father. I narrowly escaped when my father sent me away from an exploding ship. After that, I was a blacksmith who didn't get any credit for his work. We've all had our pasts, Catherine," he continued, very frustrated now. "Isn't it about time you told me some of yours?"

I stared at him, flabbergasted. This image of Will wasn't coexisting with the one I had constructed when I first saw him in Tortuga. "I…I'm sorry." I said, as I brought my head to my hands. "I'll try to explain. It's just that. I'm not sure you'll believe me."

He took my hands from my face and enfolded them in his. "And why's that? You seem to take everything I say into stride." He grinned, but I wasn't going to let him make a joke. Not now. I ripped my hands from his, and went to the table to stare out at the sea again.

"…because, Will Turner. You said you didn't believe in Davy Jones."

"What does that have to do with…"

But I was letting it go now. Everything I had shut up for ten years was coming out, and Will was, unfortunately, receiving the brunt of it. "You were right when I said I hated Jack Sparrow, Will." I began, and whirled around on him, looking at him, just sitting there on the bed. I pulled the chair out from the table and brought it near to him. "And I'm going to tell you exactly why. It's quite remarkable that your life changed for the better when you were 11, Will, because when I was 11, mine changed for the worse. All because of that accursed man." I stood up from the chair and brought it closer to him, then sat down in it.

"I was just a child playing on a beach with my mother, the first time I saw Jack Sparrow. He wasn't a captain then." I laughed harshly, haltingly. "Oh no. But his personality hasn't changed a bit. My mother was a French, and so a beautiful woman, you see. So he approached her. And tried to talk to her. My mother, however, who was beautiful, was also wise, and saw right through him. She walked away, leaving me to play with my rag doll on the grass, right before the beach started. I wished I could have been on the beach, but my mother had always insisted that I never go near water. Ever. So what could I do? I wanted someone to play with me, and my mother had just gone. So who else was left? Dear old Jack Sparrow, that's who." I again tried to laugh, but this time, tears were beginning to form in my eyes, and I choked on my spite instead.

"Catherine…" Will began to interrupt, but I stopped him by holding up my hand to his lips.

"You wanted to hear this damned story, Will Turner, so you're going to let me tell it," I almost shouted. "So I went up to the man, and told him that if he would play with me, I would tell him a secret. A very important secret. About who my father was. I had in fact just gathered the information myself from the kitchen staff, who I had overheard gossiping while they were making my our picnic lunch. I don't really know why Jack agreed, he probably thought he would use the information to blackmail my mother into his bed." Here I paused, and didn't resist as Will took my hands into his own. Tears were streaming down my face. "So I told him. I said, 'Mr. Jack, my daddy's name is Davy Jones. NOW will you play with me?'" Will made as if to say something, but I persevered. It was almost all out, this weight could almost be lifted off my chest.

"So he asked me, very playfully, if I wanted to take a boat ride, that it would be a lot of fun. How could I resist? Something forbidden had been offered so easily, so temptingly, that I just couldn't reject this offer of his. And so he took me by the hand, and led me down to this very ship, to this very room." I looked around me. "And brought me to 'The Flying Dutchman.'"

"That's…that's… Davy Jones' ship."

"Very good, Will. So even if you don't believe in it, you do know the mythology. That man… that THING presented me like a bone to a dog to Davy Jones as his daughter. And then skillfully asked for 10 years of Captaincy of the 'Black Pearl,' using me as leverage to up the number of years. I stayed there the next seven years, Will." I shook my head. "…and I don't intend to go back."

There. It was all out. I collapsed in sobs at Will's hands, and he swiftly lifted me back onto the bed, and embraced me in his arms. We stayed like that for a good many minutes, as I sobbed and sobbed, letting out 10 years' worth of emotion. Finally, the tears dried up, and I tentatively pulled back, and looked into his face.

I couldn't read it very well. There was something like sadness, something like sympathy, and something like determination upon his face. "Will?" I asked, somewhat nervous.

"Jack's asked me to go aboard 'The Flying Dutchman.' To obtain something for him, in exchange for the compass. He also said we're going somewhere else first. Somewhere… upriver."

. I pushed myself out of his arms, and ran to sit on the table again. "You mean, after all I just told you, you're STILL going to trust Jack Sparrow and do this mad thing?"

"What choice do I have, Catherine?" He was angry, now. "To just let Elizabeth rot in jail? To just give up?"

I felt as if I had been slapped. Elizabeth. Her name hit me like a ton of bricks. I turned my face to look at the sea, to calm myself, but the scenery had changed. We had reached land.

"Catherine, I…" but he was interrupted by another knock on the door, which he quickly crossed and opened impatiently. Pintel stood, there, with a grin on his face. I suppose he expected to see us both at least partially unclothed, so when he saw me sitting on the table, fully dressed, and Will with all his clothes on as well, the grin slid off. "Jack wants you both to come on deck. 'E says we're goin' upriver now. 'E also asked if 'e could 'ave 'is boots back. 'E said to say please."

But I was already slipping them on, and walking toward the doorway, past Will, past Pintel, up the stairway. I soon heard their following footsteps.

I was the first crewmember to be on deck, besides Jack. He gestured into the longboat, and said, "Ladies first."

"I have long since learned never to ride alone with you, Jack Sparrow." I waited until Mr. Gibbs, Cotton, Marty, Pintel, Ragetti, and Will had gotten into the boat, and it was just Jack and me. "Jack, let's go for a boat ride. It'll be fun getting in the water again, won't it?" I said, knowing what resided on his left hand, and knowing the reason we were going upriver. I would be glad to see her again.

I waited patiently until Jack got into the boat, which turned out to be about ten seconds after I made my comment. He looked extremely embarrassed, but tried to recover with a gesture as if to say, "women, eh?" None of the crew even tried to respond to it, which put him into a slump. In fact, Mr. Gibbs stood up and held out his hand to help me steady myself as I got into the longboat, which I politely thanked him for, and smiled innocently. Why were they treating me this way? I knew I had rescued them in the jungle, but… surely they owed more allegiance to their captain?

I shrugged to myself. Jack had probably never shown any allegiance to his crew whatsoever. Naturally they would be gratefully for a bit of… female… companionship? Suddenly, I was grateful for the look I had seen on Will's face right after Jack had kissed me.


	8. Dalma and Davy

Pintel and Ragetti were taking turns rowing the long boat down an eerie stretch of riverbed. There seemed to be floating candles in the water, and the river was very narrow, so that you could see into the forest that lined the beds. It was almost as if there were people in there, chanting things that couldn't be heard, but if you looked too closely, they were gone.

The longboat stopped at a roughly made tilted house that was built atop of wooden poles.

Jack gestured to myself and Will. "All right, head up." He pointed to the ladder that led to the platform in front of the house's front door. It was soon apparent that the whole crew would be following us in, all but Cotton, who had been elected to watch the boat.

Jack went through the door first, and I heard her silky voice call out "Jack Sparrow! What you be doing, not visiting me more often…" and his reply "Very busy love, very busy…" they seemed to know each other very well, and I prodded Will to make his entrance next.

I heard her suddenly stop chattering to Jack and say something to Will. "My boy… you have an air of destiny about you… do I be knowing you?" and heard Will stuttering. I thought of her low cut dresses, and laughed to myself. Yes, exactly how Will Turned would respond to her.

Then I took a deep breath, and passed through the doorway of Tia Dalma's house. She immediately stopped flirting with Will (who had become very bright red) and walked slowly up to me. "Catherine Jones… be that you?" I slowly nodded my head, and she encircled her arms around me. She smelled of spices, of far off places, of warmth and love. I let myself give in, and hugged her warmly back. "Yes, Tia Dalma, it's me. I'm back." It seemed as if the Marty, Pintel, Ragetti, and Mr. Gibbs, had wasted no time entering the cabin, for they had witnessed it all, and everyone who hadn't breasts in the room was now gaping at the pair of us, who were now letting go of each other like old friends who had just found each other after a long separation, which, in fact, we were. Actually, it was more mother/daughter than friend, but the reaction would have been similar.

I heard Ragetti whisper to Pintel, "Jones. As in…" he pointed downward, "…that Jones?"

"Yes!" Mr. Gibbs whispered harshly back. "Now shut up and behave yourselves." He was obviously trying not be heard, but his gruff voice wasn't a good one for whispering.

I whirled on him. "How did you know?"

To my surprise, he actually started to tear up. "Knew your mother. You look exactly like her. She's a grand person, or was when I knew her. Really grand. You remind me of her a lot, really. The only time I was willing to cut Jack Sparrow's throat, when he took you away from her."

"Excuse me? I'm right here!" Jack said indignantly. But Mr. Gibbs turned on him. "Jack. C'mon. Don't you stand there and try and convince me that there was one good thing that came out of that whole business. Why even you're…" But Jack had brought his hand past his throat in a cutting motion.

Tia Dalma had caught it, though. "Jack? Hold out your hand." She said reprovingly. He held out his right daintily, and she slapped it away. "De other hand."

And Jack Sparrow held out his right hand, which had been bound several times by a piece of white linen (my bindings!) and badly. She took it, roughly, and unwound it, then held the hand up for all of us to see. A bit of skin had just rotted away, to reveal nothing but blackness.

"The black spot!" I heard four voices cry out, as Marty, Pintel, Ragetti, and Mr. Gibbs suddenly spit and turned around three times.

"What rubbish." I said. "D'you really think that's going to help you? It's not like it's contagious or anything. Just spreads really, really quickly to the one who has it. Plus there's the whole matter of the Kraken. But I don't really need to tell you about that, do I Jack?" I smiled sweetly at him, who stuck his tongue out at me.

Tia Dalma, who had left the room briefly, now reentered, carrying a jar in her hands. She pressed it on Jack.

"Um… what is it?" He asked suspiciously.

"It be a jar of dirt. Davy Jones can't set foot on land once but every ten years. You carry land with you, he can't set foot… or tentacle… on you."

"A jar. Of dirt."

"Do you want me to take it back?

"No." He hugged it firmly to his chest, while Tia Dalma winked at me. She and I both understood the concept of "comfort medicine," it seemed. "Now, Tia Dalma?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell us where the Dutchman is?" Jack asked eagerly.

"Yes," she sighed, though, as if she didn't really want to. She brought out a large jar of claws, and began to chant. Then, "The Dutch, the Dutch!" She cried, and released the claws onto a map of the ocean.

Jack looked hard at the map, and appeared to be memorizing the location of every claw. "That one's the closest." He said, finally. "Let's go."

We began to file back out of the cabin, but I lagged behind. I believed I had just found my use for all the gold from the Island of the Dead. Quietly taking off my rucksack, and keeping in mind all pirates' keen sense of treasure, I walked into Tia Dalma's back room, and handed it to her. She looked inside, curiously, then gasped.

"Catherine Jones, I don't be needing…"

"Yes, you do. At least take it as payback for when… for when you helped me." She studied me, hard. Then lifted the gold chain out of the rucksack, put it around her neck, and handed the rest back to me.

"I thank you for de gift. It matches, wonderfully, do it not?" She gave me another warm embrace, and then I heard a call from the longboat.

I headed out the door. This time, Jack had the oars. And I knew what he was thinking. They were going after the Flying Dutchman. Tonight.

The longboat made magnificent speed back to the "Pearl," and Jack ordered full speed ahead in a northeasternly direction. We had been going only about fifteen minutes when we slowed to a drift, and Jack order the anchor weighed.

The devastation we were looking at was horrible. Clearly, a seastorm had recently been through, and the sailors had had no time to prepare. It was an ideal target for "The Flying Dutchman," as most of its sailors would just be freshly dead, and not yet gone to their eternal resting place.

"Will, please don't go aboard that ship. This is the last time- I'm begging you." I grabbed his arm and wrapped it between my own two, as if just holding on to him would make him stay.

"Catherine, I've got to. I've got to get this damned key." At the mention of the key, my mind went into panic mode. Before I could say anything, Jack had come up to the pair of us, and handed Will the oars to one of the rowboats. It was too late. Jack had already got Will mixed up in this plan… and I was helpless to anything about it. Resisting the urge to stab Jack Sparrow with his own sword, I walked with Will to the rowboat. I only had a few seconds left, so I had to make them count. "Will. If you use your sword, go for the gut, not the heart. Also, they're terrified of fire. Please, don't get yourself killed!"

He started to lower himself. "I won't, Catherine… I'll just go in, get the key, and be right back, I promise." It was futile. He had no idea. I reached my hand out to him trying to touch him, anything. This would probably be the last time I saw him. He paused the lowering process, grabbed my hand, and kissed it. Then he let himself drop the rest of the way into the ocean, and rowed at a furious pace toward the shipwreck.

I held my hand up to my own lips, and back up a few paces. I wanted to go below deck, but I couldn't. I had to watch this, some strange perversion in me wanted to watch Will's death…

I watched as the "Flying Dutchman" emerged from the sea. I watched as the mutated crew began to go through the boat. And then I watched, as, miraculously, a blaze of fire lit up the night. I laughed with glee. He was going to win! By God, he was going to get out of there! The blaze lasted for a few minutes, then went out, along with all my hopes of ever seeing Will Turner ever again.

I ran to the edge of the ship, and howled to the wind, "NOOO!" The wind carried my scream all the way around me, all the way to the shipwreck, all the way to "The Flying Dutchman."

I saw the familiar process begin. All the dead men were being lined up, and asked whether they were to be sent to their resting place, or to delay it for a while and work for Davy Jones. I wanted to shout to them "Don't choose him! Even hell is better than him!" But so often, too often, the sailors chose to delay their judgment. I saw one splash, and felt hopeful. One brave soul had chosen to die with honor. But there were no more. Minutes went by, and there were no more splashes.

Then, suddenly, the deck of the "Pearl" was overcome with a great fishy odor. I gagged and turned around to see the back of my father, Davy Jones. Beside him, stood a dazed Will Turner. In front of him, a terrified Jack Sparrow.

The voice was deep and gurgly. "This boy has just said he was to be your replacement, Jack. What did you say to weasel him into it?"

"Hardly anything at all. He did it for love."

Davy Jones spat. Love. He hated the concept. He had personally torn his own heart out because of it. Because of my mother. Jack was now being clever, associating Will with love. I sidled around the edge of the ship, slowly, to where the crew was gathered, and stood by Mr. Gibbs. He squeezed my hand encouragingly, but I knew there was no real hope in him.

"As much as I'd like a young, fit man like this for my crew, Jack Sparrow, it is you who's debt must be repaid. Not his." Davy's tentacles moved threateningly.

"Ah, see? That's what I thought we could talk about. Exchanging one? For the other."

I gasped, and Mr. Gibbs put more pressure on my hand, warning me to stay silent. Especially me.

"One soul is not worth the exact same as another, Jack Sparrow. I'd say you'd run for, about… one hundred. This boy here? Three. So that makes…" He made a popping noise with his mouth, "ninety-seven souls to go. Am I right?"

"Well then, I suggest this. You pull your little beastie off me, and give me three days to come up with the rest of the ninety-seven. Plus, you get dear old lover boy here."

It was that word, love, again, that did it. "Jack Sparrow? I accept." Davy shook hands with Jack, leaving his completely covered in fish slime. Then Davy laughed. "Although, I do think I'm getting the better bargain. I get to corrupt a loved one, get one hundred souls instead of one, and set Jack Sparrow on the rest of the world." He laughed heartily, and prepared to take leave of the "Black Pearl."

My mind was racing, my heart was too. I couldn't let this happen. Perhaps I had spent too much time in a boy's disguise, perhaps I was getting too overconfident now that I had people who cared about me. But I would not. Let. This. Happen!

Mr. Gibbs seemed to sense what I was about to do, and tried to restrain me, but I broke through even his strong arms.

"Jack Sparrow, you BASTARD!!" I screamed, breaking through the entire crew, who it seemed were all trying to hold me back. I rammed through them all, my adrenaline pumping fast now. "Who the HELL do you think you are? Who made YOU God and gave YOU the right to contract other people over to eternal suffering?!?! Who gave YOU the right to RUIN people's LIVES?!?! You did it to ME, Jack Sparrow, but you're sure as HELL not going to do it to WILL!!"

I froze, then. I remembered where I was, and who was behind me. Davy Jones had turned around, and Will had awoken out of his daze. Davy Jones' entire crew was back on the "Pearl." The adrenaline suddenly left me, and I stood there, still staring into Jack Sparrow's face.

"Davy, old chum, what say I only owe you, two, maybe three now?"

"I say twenty Jack Sparrow. And I also say, you are one lucky man. Devious, but lucky. I almost wish you were on my crew."

I felt a gruff pair of arms take hold of me, and being to drag me backward. "NO! NO! NO!" I screamed, feeling furious at myself for being so stupid. My hands were then tied in front of me, as well as my feet, and I was soon set in a boat, opposite Will Turner, who was similarly tied.

"Catherine?"

"Will, it would probably be best if you didn't talk to me right now."

He nodded, then said. "You were right."

I stared at him. "You kissed my hand."

He stared back. "You defended me."

We both said at the same time, "No one's ever done that before."

We were on the way to facing the horrors of our lives, but were both blushing furiously.


	9. Two Kisses

The deck of "The Flying Dutchman" looked nothing like that of "The Black Pearl." Everything was dirty, mucky, and covered in slime. I shivered as I took my first step onto it, memories flooding back. I had spent most of my time here in my quarters, which had been quite large, for a pirate ship's standards. Occasionally, however, my father would force me to make trips to the deck for "education," to learn the different parts of the ship, or to see an unfaithful crew member being punished. I remembered the first time I saw the Kraken set on a ship.

I had been fifteen, and had become accustomed to sleeping in the quarters that I was given, despite the awful sounds that would regular sift from the deck. But that night, I was woken awake by my father's one hand.

"Catherine, you are to follow me." I had then long since learned (and seen) what happened to those who disobeyed Davy Jones, and had gone up the stairs to the deck after him, where he put his heavy hand on my shoulder, forcing me to stay put. I had watched as several of the crew members turned a gigantic wheel, making an enormous wooden pole sink into the ship.

"And he is released!" My father cried, pointing into the distance, causing the crew members to laugh evilly. I followed my father's finger, to see a ship with beautiful white sails floating peacefully on the water. It was clearly going in the opposite direction, I could see its rudder, and the wind seemed to be helping it move forward. Suddenly, it stopped. The sails went flat, as if the wind had suddenly stopped blowing. But I knew it hadn't- my hair was still whipping around my face. Then, an incredible set of tentacles rose out of the water, reaching for the sky until it seemed there would be no end to them. Suddenly, as a hand claps together, the tentacles snapped on the ship, cracking it in half, then brought it, sinking, down to the ocean with it. I cried out in pain at the horrible sight I had just seen, and prepared to run to the edge of the ship, to jump in the water, to try and rescue any of those doomed sailors, but a claw abruptly rammed into my cut, cutting short my movement.

"The Kraken." Davy Jones said. "Released on those who's time has come for their debt to be paid." He looked disgusted at the tears running down my cheeks. "Mr. Turner! Take her back below!"

"Yes, captain." A timid voice came out of the crowd, and I heard some taunting cries of "Bootstrap!!" as a man stepped forward. At least, he was mostly a man. I knew that the more time the crew spent of Davy's ship, the more they turned into the ship itself, so I deduced that this one hadn't been here for long. His face was long, and sad, and he took me by the shoulders so gently that I began to sob even harder. "Don't cry now, Miss. It will be all right."

Mr. Turner led me down the steps to my cabin, and opened the door for me. "My son is your age, you know. I don't… even know where he is right now. But I know what it is like to have a child who is hurt. Would you mind… would you mind terribly if I came to talk to you sometimes?"

The shock of being treated civilly on this hell of a ship made my tears stop flowing. "Mr. Turner? Please, please do!"

"It's William. Well, Bill. Bootstrap Bill, is what they call me. But I'd be honored if you'd call me Bill."

"Bill?" I paused, trying to collect myself. "…Thank you."

He smiled, nodded, and shut my door, leaving me inside, as I renewed my sobs.

It had been six years since that meeting, and two since I had escaped "The Flying Dutchman," I wondered if Bill had changed any. I wondered if he had finally hardened his heart, like the rest of the sailors on this accursed ship.

Will and I stood there while a sailor with a head like a hammerhead shark untied our feet. He attached a bit of rope to my tied hands, like a leash, and stood there, holding it. We stood there, like that, for a good many minutes, before the sailor sat down, put his head back, and began to snore, my "leash" still in his hands.

Will and I finally looked up from the deck of "The Flying Dutchman," and looked at each other.

"Catherine, what's going to happen to us?"

"It's the key, Will. I wanted to tell you, but you were heading off so quickly. I didn't have the time." I recited the tale I now knew by heart.

Davy Jones, once the most dreaded pirate of the sea, had been at port one day when he met the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her name- was Coselle Lefleur. The two fell madly and deeply in love, but soon, Coselle began to realize that Davy was not the man she thought he was. He lied, cheated, stole, and murdered. Coselle found herself trapped in a relationship with what she considered to be an evil man. So she ran away from their chambers one night, without Davy's knowledge. As soon as he found out, he retreated into a deep depression, emerging three weeks later, extremely haggard, but also extremely resolved. He was going to carve out his own heart, place it in a chest, and bury it on an island only he knew about. The key to this chest, he made himself, and was a very special key. No one knew what it looked like, and there was said to be only a drawing on a piece of parchment, that Davy had done himself to practice, that had somehow gotten away. Whoever had the key to the chest, and the chest itself, had Davy's heart. And whoever had Davy's heart, had control of Davy Jones, the master of the sea, himself.

"This key will not be easy to find. Even I don't know where it's hidden…"

"Damn Jack Sparrow to hell." Will said after I had finished.

"My sentiments exactly. But, at least now we know what Jack's trying to do, don't we? He's going after the chest, and has bargained you onto the boat to search for the key. Evidently, his ambitions run a lot higher than being captain of the 'Pearl.'"

"Well, damned if I'm going to be some puppet in Jack Sparrow's game."

"But Will, don't you see? If we find the key and the chest first, then WE have control over Davy. Or we can just kill the heart, the only human part left of Davy Jones. That would kill Davy himself! Then it would all be over!"

It was clearly making sense in his mind. "Where would Davy Jones be most likely to hide the key to his most prized possession…?"

But before we could talk further, the hammer headed sailor had been awoken sharply with a rap on the head by another sailor, this one who had extremely sharp points all over his body. "Ain't the boy supposed to be on night duty? And… he's here. He'll want to see her."

Before I knew it, the hammer headed sailor had dragged Will off deeper into the deck, while Will went along helplessly, looking over his shoulder as I just stood there, my hands still tied together, the "leash" trailing. There was no one to watch me, but I knew better than to run. There was no where to go.

"Ah, Catherine. You've grown up so much since the last time I've seen you. And in exactly the right ways…When was that? Two years ago?" The voice was deep and sultry, and I knew exactly who it belonged to, even though I had only heard it a few times in my life. The Gryffin- the most dreaded pirate on the seas. I did not know his real name, hardly anyone did. He was named after the fabled monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, two predators who did their jobs to perfection, who flew and pounced with secrecy and ease, who took what they did mercilessly.

He had picked up the trail of rope that led from my hands, and was playing with it between his fingers. "I assume, Catherine, that you know what is planned for us?"

I did not respond.

"Perhaps it is the location which is making you so… uncooperative. I seem to remember your quarters being this way." At this, he tautened the rope and began to pull toward my cabin on the ship, giving me no choice but to follow. He opened the unlocked door, closed it, and locked it behind him, then put the key in his pocket.

"Now, then. As I was saying, Catherine. Your father and I have still been negotiating during your unfortunate…absence. Unfortunately, the world is changing. All the armies and navies seem to think that the sea, untamable as she is, is to be under their control. Now, your father and I just can't have that, can we? As well as all our kind on these waters. We've been fighting them for years, but your father and I have finally swallowed our pride, and come up with a plan to squash the British Royal Navy. We are to combine forces. He gets something out of this- that is, to keep the sea free. Me? I could be a criminal anywhere, so I need something out of the deal as well. So your father offered the only thing that really interested me." He pulled the rope toward him a little more, and chucked me under the cheek. I moved my head away. He said, in a very business-like manner, "When you reach your twenty-first birthday, which is, what, two weeks?" I nodded sharply. "You will be delivered to my ship, 'The Seven Deadly Sins.' And we shall be married."

I stayed as still as I could.

"Well? Don't you have anything to say to your fiancée? A congratulatory kiss, perhaps?" He took a knife out of his belt out and swiftly cut my bonds, took my face in his hands, and kissed me strongly. As soon as it was over, but while his face was still close, I spat in it.

His face quickly grew red, and his brow furrowed, as he brought his hand up and slapped me, whipping my head to the side. I brought my hand up as well, and slapped him as hard as I could. His head barely moved, but he began to laugh.

"You've got spirit, I see!" He said, rubbing the spot on his face. "We shall fit together as hand in glove!"

The Gryffin took the key out of his pocket, and took his leave. He set the key on my bedside table, but took care to show that he had another stored in his vest pocket. As soon as the door clicked shut, I sat on the bed, stunned. How, just how was I going to get out of this one?

I didn't have much time to wonder about my problems, however, because I heard a moaning outside my door, as well as a more familiar voice, making some comforting noise.

I opened it a crack, and looked outside. There, with his shirt ripped open and blood streaming down the back, was Will. His face was the epitome of pain, and I ran to him straightaway.

"Will! Will! What happened to you?" I said, kneeling, and framing his face with my hands.

"He received three lashes for letting a cannon go," the other voice said, and I turned around to see Bill standing there, looking even more sad than before, but there was a new glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Bill?" I stood up slowly. He had progressed in his mutilation in the two years since last I saw him. His shoulders were covered in carbuncles, and one whole side of his face was made of ornate, yet tiny shells. He was very pale, and was dripping water, even though it wasn't raining. I walked over to him cautiously, staring into his eyes. It was, indeed, my Bill, the one who had kept me sane for the eight years I spent on this ship. I swiftly enfolded him in my arms, and could feel his stiff body react with surprise, then slowly raise his own arms to embrace me back.

"What the hell?" Will said through his pain. "Catherine, how the hell do you know this man… how do you know…?

"Catherine Jones, I'd like you to meet, well, find out more about, Will Turner, my son."

I turned to face Will, whose face was stricken with anger. "You mean you've known my father all this time, and not told me?"

But I was angry now too. "Believe, me this comes as much as a surprise to me as it does to you. How could I have known? He just told me his name was Bill, and he was the only kind soul to me on this ship during my time here. Now get in there," I gestured toward my rooms, "Will Turner, so I can tend to those marks!"

I turned to invite Bill in as well, but he had somehow disappeared. I grinned. If this wasn't a case of matchmaking, I didn't know what was…

Will was sitting at the dresser in the corner of my room with a stubborn look on his face. His entire shirt was in tatters, and soaked in his blood as well.

"I'm not going to be able to help anyone with anything while your shirt's in that kind of condition. Remove it."

"What?" Will said, suddenly blushing.

"You heard me. Would you rather go around shirtless now, or for the rest of your time on 'The Flying Dutchman?' Unless, of course, you thought to pack a few replacements…" I had been searching in my bureau for a sewing kit- I had assumed that these rooms had not been touched, and was right about that. I also brought over some rubbing alcohol, and some clean bandages.

He handed over the shirt, reluctantly, and sat in the chair backwards, so I could get the best shot at his back.

"That looks like it hurts, Will. Hold on." I made him stand up, than pulled the chair closer to my bed, so I could sit down too. As I started to apply the alcohol, I could definitely tell that he was trying not to make any noise. "It's all right. Scream if you want to. I think they officially sound-proofed this cabin. It didn't seem to make any difference, all the fuss I made when Jack first brought me here…" I blotted the last stripe with the last bandage, and announced, "There, all done. Just let me fix your shirt up now."

He turned around in his chair so he was facing the right way, and I got the proper things out of the sewing kit to fix his shirt, and began to thread the needle.

"You've got such tiny fingers." He finally said, touching my hands with on of his own.

"Will? Stop distracting me. I've got to do this, you know."

But he took the shirt out of my hands, and leant forward, slowly, but surely. Then he kissed me. This time, I found myself kissing back. I dropped the needle and found my arms encircling his shoulders, and felt his around my waist. He brought me close to him, then we pulled our lips away from each other, but still sat, embracing each other closely, his shirt caught between us, cheek to cheek, our heads on each others' shoulders. I heard him sigh, contentedly, "Elizabeth…"

I shot out of his arms, off the bed, to the other side of the room. "Elizabeth?" His face was shocked, guilty even. He stood up to come toward me, his arms reaching out, but I ran back to the bed, picked up his shirt, and shoved it into his hands. "Here's your damned shirt, MR. Turner. Oh, and by the way, I'm engaged as well. My lovely father arranged it all while I was gone. I think the Gryffin and I will be quite… happy… together…" by this time I was in tears, and Will had put his hand on his sword again at the sound of the Gryffin's name, but I was pushing him out the door. "Good night Mr. Turner. Have sweet dreams about your bonny love, Elizabeth. She deserves you, she really does. She has someone to go to the end of the world and back for her… while all she has to do is just sit and wait…" I slammed the door before he could say respond, and sat on my bed, just letting the tears stream down my face.


	10. Liar's Dice

The sun only half-rose the next day, which perfectly fit my mood. I had stayed in my cabin all night after Will left, just sitting there on my bed, then decided I had better try and get some sleep. It wasn't a very successful endeavor; I just kept thinking about Will's kiss, and how it had made me feel, well… soft? Sweet? Romantic? The thought that he was actually thinking about Elizabeth the whole time made me sit up on my elbows and pound my pillow in frustration and embarrassment. I had clearly been kissing back, and I think he had noticed- after all, he HAD pulled me closer. But was that pulling ME closer, or pulling Elizabeth closer? I ended up sleeping about a grand total of an hour, where I had a dream of the kiss, a beautiful woman looming over the both of us, pointing her finger at me and laughing in a taunting manner.

So I got up the next morning, determined to get out of that room, when I spotted the key on my bedside table. Suddenly, the memories of The Gryffin's teasing and kiss came rushing back to me. Ah, the irony. I had received two kisses last night: one, forced upon me from a man I despised, but who clearly wanted me, the other, that I willingly took from a man I… admired? Liked? Maybe even… loved? But who clearly wanted something else.

I gingerly stepped opened the door of my cabin after changing back into the linen shift from my nightgown, and stepped precariously onto the deck. The crew weren't doing much; the wind was with us, and was doing most of the work. Only one sailor stood at the helm, fixing the wheel's position now and then. Since there was so little activity, I knew exactly what was going on just under the open air upper deck… "Liar's Dice."

When I been so desperately bored in my youth, I sometimes went to watch the mutated crew members playing this game, gambling with the only things they had- their years of service. Some of them were rather good at it, and had actually bargained things down to only twenty years or so, other, less fortunate gamblers soon found themselves with enough years of service to last an eternity. I made my way across the deck, ignoring the crude calls from the members of the crew who hadn't known me through my years of captivity. I almost felt sorry for them. Davy Jones would teach them soon enough- his daughter required almost as much respect as he himself did upon "The Flying Dutchman." There had been sailors who had made passes at me before- and had received two lashes for it.

In the present circumstances regarding the Gryffin, however, I decided I needed to up my own protection a bit. I thought about it for a while as I crossed the deck, and then decided I would keep a sheathed sword under my pillow, my hand on the handle. It wasn't like I was going to sleep much, anyway, put I would feel a lot more comfortable knowing there was a very long, very pointy object close at hand during the night.

I finally reached the area where the shipmates played "Liar's Dice," and a few of them moved over for me so I could take my place near the table and watch. There was a large crowd today; a few of the most skilled players were competing against each other, but I soon learned that they had only staked one year each. The crew members with the less years were always grateful for it, and tended to be less flamboyant with their bets.

The game ended, as the member with the sharp points all over his body lessened his debt to Davy Jones by one more year- now down to nineteen. He raised his large arms over his head and made a victory cry, while the other two shipmates sulkily collected their dice and cups and stalked off into the crowd, who started to mumble again, waiting for the next round of shipmates to take their turn.

In the general cacophony, two voices stood out, one of which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and a shot of adrenaline went through my body like a cannonball through a cannon.

"Can anyone of the crew be challenged?" It was Will. I made myself sit up straighter, to look like I was very interested by the table on which the game was played.

Another familiar voice answered, "Yes. And if you're thinking of playing today, it looks like we have a very important person in the audience. My fiancée, Catherine Jones, daughter of the captain of this ship." It was the Gryffin. Talking to Will. His tone wouldn't have been so amiable if he would have known what Will had done to me last night, after the Gryffin left.

"Ah, so you're the Gryffin!" Will said, in a tone of discovery.

"Guilty as charged, as with so many things. And you are…?"

"Will. Turner. Involuntary member of 'The Flying Dutchmen."

"Involuntary, eh? So does that mean you've not officially said to Davy himself that you are to be debted onto his ship?"

"No."

"…And there's the loophole in the whole thing. You see, normally, you would be bound here, but if you haven't said those exact words…" The Gryffin trailed off, and a smile could be heard in his voice. "Now I've recently been looking for some more crew members myself, for my ship, 'The Seven Deadly Sins.' Officially, I can't tell you how to get off this particular boat, as that would sort of ruin the whole alliance thing. But, Will Turner, if you ever find yourself in need of a captain, you're welcome to join us."

Will paused, as if he was thinking about it all very deeply. "Gryffin? I can't promise you anything. But, if certain circumstances come together, than I may very well find myself aboard 'The Seven Deadly Sins.'"

The Gryffin laughed easily, and I heard the sound of a strong pat on the back. "Very diplomatic, Mr. Turner. And now, I must greet the lovely Catherine."

I stiffened as I felt a presence walk over my way. A few more sailors were sent scurrying, and the Gryffin took a seat beside me. I faced completely forward, aware that his whole body was turned toward me, and leaning quite closely, and also aware that Will was probably watching our every move.

"Miss Jones?" The Gryffin said silkily, reaching out for my hand, which I quickly snatched away from his grip. He spoke in a softer tone of voice. "Come now, Catherine. In two weeks, we shall be married. Shouldn't we, well, warm up to each other a bit?"

At this, I regally turned my body so that it was partially facing him, but he could clearly see my face.

"Sir, I would rather marry the Kraken itself then spend the rest of my life by your side."

He grinned, than said in a more threatening tone of voice, "You really have no choice in the matter. As I have previously stated, you will be delivered to my ship, and we WILL be married and then…" He smiled sweetly, "…all of this politeness won't really matter. If I want to kiss your hand, I shall do so. If I want to embrace you, it will happen. If I want to feel your skin against my own, you will comply. I only hope that two weeks is enough time for you to get… used to the idea."

I looked directly into his eyes with all the hatred in my being pouring from them. "I will kill myself before I let that happen."

He shrugged. "Then I'll just have to make sure you don't do that, won't I?" He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a call from behind us.

"I challenge Davy Jones to a game of 'Liar's Dice!'" I gasped, and turned around to see who had cried out such a mad thing, but my heart already knew- it was Will. He stepped up to the table, and turned to the Gryffin and I. "Gryffin, may I borrow your set? Unfortunately, I am unequipped with a set of my own." He turned toward me. "Miss Jones…" and bowed, but he caught my eyes for a moment as the Gryffin was fishing in his knapsack for his set of dice and cup. There was sympathy there, for sure. I knew he had overheard our entire conversation. He whispered the words, "Don't worry, Catherine. I'll protect you."

I whispered back, "Like hell you will. I'll protect myself." But the familiar phrases from the jungle reminded me that Will and I could work together to get off this hell of a ship. As the Gryffin stopped rummaging in his knapsack and handed Will his dice, I slowly nodded at him, as if I was accepting his bow, but we both knew it meant more. We would help each other get off this accursed ship, kiss or no kiss.

Suddenly, that dreaded gurgly voice came from behind me. "Mr. Turner? Challenging me?" Davy Jones began to laugh his deep, great, terrifying laugh. "Fine, boy. As long as you know what you're getting yourself into…"

"Oh, I think I do."

They both sat at the table: Will on an upturned bucket, and Davy on a straight-backed chair that someone had probably fetched from his cabin.

"Boy. Name your stakes."

"I stake the key to the chest of Davy Jones." Davy stood up, and leaned over the table intimidatingly, but Will didn't flinch. "Boy, how did you come to know of the key?"

"That is not a part of the game. But if I lose, I stake all my years on this ship to be doubled."

Davy nodded slowly. Apparently, it had slipped his mind that Will didn't owe any years to Davy whatsoever. He brought out his dice and cup, and prepared to shake them, when Will said, "I need to see it."

"What, boy?"

"I need to know it's real before I proceed."

Davy stared at him, then nodded briskly, as his tentacles began to ripple. Suddenly, a black key on a ring was presented, hanging on one of the most inside of them.

And they began to play. The dice were rolled, then held under the cup, just at an angle so that the dice's owners could see them. Plays began to be called out, and I felt myself begin to go numb. Finally, it all came to an end. Will was winning, it was certain, until he called out a play that was obviously wrong.

Davy Jones began to laugh. "Boy, you should know better than to mess with me… Welcome aboard!" He stalked off back to his cabin, as Will feigned complete misery, putting his face in his hands. I could see, however, that he was trying not to smile through his fingers.

"Most exciting! Most exciting!" The Gryffin called out, and went to congratulate Will for his expert play, and expert deviousness. I, however, sat there flabbergasted. Will had had the key nearly in his fingertips! Yet he had just let it go… just like that? I stood up to go back to my cabin, before the Gryffin – or Will – could speak to me again.

I spent the rest of the night reliving that game in my mind, as well as the Gryffin's declaration- "…and you will comply." I shivered, and brought the covers up more closely around my shoulders.

My right hand stayed firmly on the sword under my pillow, especially after speaking with that vile man today. Sure enough, I heard my cabin door quietly click open, than squeak as if someone was trying to open it as quietly as they possibly could. This didn't really make much sense to me- The Gryffin would have just barged right in, but my grip tightened on my sword.

Sure enough, the moonlight told of a decidedly male figure coming toward me in my bed. I half-opened my eyes, enough so that I could see the figure, and make an approximate estimation as to where their throat was.

The man neared, and then knelt by my bedside. He was coming closer now, the moment was now if not ever…

I quickly unsheathed the sword and heard its comforting "SHHHWWWING!" sound, than sat up straight in my bed, and held my sword's point at the throat of the intruder, who had suddenly stood up.

"Whoever you are, whatever you're doing, you have no business here that Davy Jones could possibly approve of. Now get out before I make a mark that won't easily be forgotten."

"Goddamn it Catherine! Keep your voice down!" It was Will.

I quickly turned up the oil in the lantern that I kept beside my bed. "What the hell are you doing here at this time of night?" I screeched, and quite reasonably, too. I held the sheet up to cover myself, still pointing my sword in his general direction.

"We're getting out of here…" he suddenly grinned, and held his forefinger up, spinning it round and round. It looked like… but it couldn't possibly be… "The key to Davy Jones' chest. You really didn't think I would make such a mistake like that as an accident, did you? I just needed to see where he hid it!"

"There's still rather the problem of guards… and a boat…"

Another figure stepped into the doorway. "Ahem. Your chariot awaits, my lady." Bill grinned, pointing to the empty corridor outside my room. "Told them all they had night duty. Davy's special orders. Now get going, you two…"

"Bill, can't you come with us?"

"And what good'ud I be? No. I'm debted for here for more years yet, and just the thought of my son… my son…" he began to tear up. "… being free. That's enough for me."

Will walked up to Bill, and threw his arms around him. "I promise I won't leave you here. I promise… I'll not let you spend the rest of eternity in this hellhole. I'll come back and get you. You have my word."

I hugged Bill as well. "You have no idea… I never would have made it through without you the first time…"

Will ran over to my closet and began to fish through things, than finally pulled out a long, black cloak. "Here, put this on over your nightgown. It's cold out there. And who knows how far we'll have to go before we reach another ship… or land."

I pulled the cloak over my shoulders, and we both headed out the door, leaving Bill standing in my rooms. I waved one last goodbye to him, which he returned, a bittersweet smile on his face.

We crossed the deck as quietly as we could, and stepped into the remaining boat, which Will and I began to lower immediately. As soon as we were in the water and a fair distance away, Will said, "Catherine… I need to apologize to you."

I stared at him. "I… I don't know what I was thinking the other night."

"It seems pretty apparent to me what you were thinking."

He blushed. "No. What I mean is… what I want to say… I kissed YOU, not her. I just… my brain was…"

"It's alright." I said, even though it really wasn't. "Please forget about it. I don't really want to talk about it. Please."

"And the Gryffin… Catherine. I swear to you, I will save you… HELP save you from him in any way I can. He's… he's…"

"Despicable?"

Will nodded, then stopped rowing for a moment to take my hands in his. "Catherine, we did it. We got off that ship, and if we can do that… by God, we can do anything."

I slowly brought my eyes up to his, and began to laugh. "We're off the ship, Will. We're off the ship!" I stood up in the rowboat and shouted, "This is the second time I've escaped your ship, Davy Jones! You couldn't contain my mother, and you can't contain me! Lock me in a cabin, take away my freedom, force me into a marriage to a man who is evil, and I will still escape you! I am the sea, Davy Jones, and your are just a leaf floating on its surface!!"


	11. Love and the Seven Deadly Sins

PotC: The Daughter of the DeadKatherine Wild

Will had been rowing the boat for quite a while now, and the rhythmic feeling of the waves, plus the fact that I hadn't gotten any sleep for at least the past three nights, lulled me to sleep.

I woke up, gently, as the sun began to rise, to see that Will had stopped rowing, and had come over to my side of the boat and lay down beside me, so that we were nestled like two spoons in the bottom of the rowboat. I realized that his left arm was wrapped around me from behind, and had settled just above my mid riff, covering my own left arm with a warm assurance, and my head was settled comfortably on his right outstretched arm, while my other arm was stretched out as well, and we were holding hands during our sleep. We were covered in my black cloak from our run from "The Flying Dutchman."

I really didn't want to be Elizabeth's replacement, but… this was just so… nice. I gently shifted and stretched, trying not to wake him up, and then closed my eyes again. Mmm. Will's smell was so wonderful to me. . A little sweat, the sea air, a musky odor, it was just so comforting and… male. I breathed in deeply through my nose, so that if I should never be this close to him again, I would have it memorized.

My deep breath moved both of our left arms together, and it seemed to rouse Will from his slumber. I felt him begin to make little movements; obviously he didn't want to wake me up either. I reluctantly squeezed his arm, the one around my waist, to let him know I was awake, and we slowly sat up together, and he wrapped his right arm around us as well, bringing the black cloak tight against the morning coolness. We just sat there for a while, together like that, watching the sun begin to sparkle against the ocean, when finally I knew I had to speak.

I reluctantly unwrapped myself from his arms, so that we were now facing each other. "Will… was that me? Or was that…" I couldn't finish the sentence. I was almost sure that he would say Elizabeth, and I didn't want to hear that answer.

"I was just rowing, watching you sleep. You looked so peaceful, and I wanted to be a part of that peace, I suppose…" He looked into my eyes. "It was you, Catherine. I was sleeping next to you, I wrapped my arms around you, I covered us, you and I, with that black cloak. And you know what?" A slow smile began to spread across his face. "I didn't think I would have the nerve… but Catherine? It was you, definitely you."

I felt my ears turn warm, and looked down into my lap, then suddenly reached across the boat and embraced him. He was surprised; his arms stayed down my his side for a moment, but then he enfolded me in his arms as well. "You're so lovely," he said, "even your smell is lovely."

I laughed, thinking of my earlier ponderings. "Oh really? And what exactly do I smell like, Will Turner?"

He paused for a moment. "You smell of… the sea. And something else- something… I can't put my finger on it. But it's sweet, and salty, and bitter, and warm, all at the same time. I think I could breathe in that scent for the rest of my life." He murmured into my hair, than took a deep breath in.

We let go of each other reluctantly, after all, there was still the small matter of Davy Jones. But he did seem so small now… now that Will was with me, and we had spent the night in each other's arms.

"We've got to think of some sort of plan," Will said. Now that we've got the key, we need a way to get to this island to find the chest, so we can kill Davy Jones, then go back, and free my father from that hell." His face suddenly looked determined, on top of the soft features I had seen just moments earlier.

"Once Davy discovers that key is gone, Will, he'll head straight for the island, to protect one from the other. He just can't set foot on land for another twelve days- not until my 21st birthday. But you can bet he'll send crew members to land, to watch that spot like a hawk."

"We've got to follow him then, somehow. This rowboat won't let us do that anywhere near fast enough…" He seemed to have an idea, but was very wary about sharing it with me. "Catherine? 'The Seven Deadly Sins' is following 'The Flying Dutchman.' At least, if it wasn't, it will be, once they discover you're gone. If we head for any other boat, Davy might set the Kraken on it… even despite the fact you're on the ship. It'd be just like him to have the Kraken hold you up in one of its tentacles while it crushes the rest of the ship."

I shuddered. I could see where he was going with this, and began to realize that it might be our only way out. "And if you deliver me to the Gryffin, you'll get into his confidences even more, Will." He looked relieved that I had caught on so quickly, but the look was replaced quickly with one of guilt.

"You know I wouldn't ask you to do this unless it was absolutely necessary…"

"I know."

"And I'll convince him not to set a finger on you until you're married, which of course, you won't be."

"Of course," I knew I sounded a little doubtful, and a little more than a bit nervous a this plan. But I made my mind up, and looked Will straight in the eye. "Will? Set the course for 'The Seven Deadly Sins.' I just don't have to pretend I'm in love with the man, do I?"

"I think that would be a bit out of character for you, don't you? No, just act as you feel. I have a feeling the Gryffin is not easily deceived." I nodded briskly.

"Yes, it would be very foolish to act as if I'm in love with him, when, in fact, I'm in love with a man who would be very close by." Had I just let that out of my mouth? My God. First the outburst on the "Pearl," now this. I blushed furiously, then determinedly looked away to face the ocean.

Will gently brought out his hand to turn my face back toward him. "Good plan. It'll be hard enough for me to pretend I don't love the fiancée of the man I'm supposed to be working for."

I blinked, slowly, sure that I had heard him wrong. "You… what?"

"Catherine Jones, I love you! Must I proclaim it to the world?" He stood up in the unsteady rowboat and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I LOVE CATHERINE JONES, THE DAUGHTER OF THE DEAD MAN, AND SHE LOVES ME IN RETURN!!" As I helped him sit back down, my mind whirled.

"But Will, what about… what about…?"

"Elizabeth? I'm not sure. But she gave up her first fiancée for me, for what she thought was love. I'm not quite sure that's what it was, now. Elizabeth… longs for adventure. She is as untamable as the sea- much like you in that way." He grinned. "I've been feeling for a while that I'm too tame for her, she longs for more excitement, more adventure, than I'd ever be able to give her."

So it was really happening, then. He was really giving up Elizabeth for me… at an impulse, I grabbed Will and gave him a strong kiss on the lips. "God, but I love you William Turner."

"So you know what the next step is, then, don't you Catherine?" He tried to kneel in the boat, rather awkwardly, and made it into a sort of half kneel/half squat. "Catherine Jones. Will you marry me?"

Again, my brain flipped, but this time in a good way. Everything was happening so fast, it was all so wonderful… I would be going on "The Seven Deadly Sins" with more than a protector, I would be going with someone I loved, and who loved me in return. There would be no stronger bond than that, no surer way we would get out of there.

My old, blustering self made a short appearance. "No."

Will's face crumpled. "NO?"

"Of course I will, you idiot! You complete prat!"

We embraced each other again and kissed strongly, longer this time, more passionately. When we finally let go, I studied his eyes. Nothing but pure contentment and love resided there. I nodded briskly.

"Right then. Don't we have a ship to catch?"

Will grinned, picked up the oars again, and began rowing toward a ship in the distance. Even from here, I could see its massive size and its name written all across one side in golden script- "The Seven Deadly Sins."

Right before we were to call up to the boat, Will tied my hands loosely, than kissed each of them as if they were the most precious objects in the world. "We WILL get out of here. Just like we did the 'Dutchman.' My… love." The word sounded wonderful in his mouth, in his voice, and I leant forward to give him one last kiss before we were to board the ship. Our next, hopefully, would be on the other side of the ship, on the island where Davy Jones kept his chest.

Will rowed a bit closer to the boat, then called up, "Ahoy there! Mr. Will Turner has a gift for the Captain of 'The Seven Deadly Sins,' the Gryffin himself. One that he surely will appreciate!" Will had taken care to cover me in the black cloak so that he would be able to reveal my identity to the Gryffin only.

We had worked out the story many times. Will had seen me trying to lower a rowboat from the "Dutchman," than saw his chance to escape, get over to the "Seven Deadly Sins," and bring favor to the Gryffin, hopefully to become close to him, all in one. The Gryffin would admire Will's deviousness, to be sure, not to mention the fact that he had brought the Gryffin's escaped fiancée right back to where she belonged. We rehearsed the story all the way over, my incentive for learning it quickly was a kiss from Will for every time I recited it correctly, his incentive the same. We had the story down pat within the space of five minutes, and rewarded ourselves with a few more passionate embraces.

Someone called down from the deck of the ship, "Mr Will Turner, eh? And what's this 'gift.'"

"Something I must deliver to the Gryffin personally, my friend. She does not tolerate many sailors well."

"'She,' eh? All right, I'll go get him, but if it ain't worth it, on your own head be the punishment."

"I accept that gladly."

A few minutes passed, and the Gryffin soon popped his head over the edge of the deck. "By God, it IS Mr Turner. Come on lads, get that boat up here. Is that one of the 'Dutchman's?' Well done, Mr. Turner, well done. And as for this mysterious gift, my first mate will show you to my cabin." He turned on his heel and headed back out of sight. I was careful to keep my face straight forward so that the hood of the cloak let out no clues, and Will looked straight into it as the sailors huffed and puffed, bringing up the rowboat. He tied a length of rope to my hands, the same as the hammer-headed sailor had done on the night we arrived at the "Dutchman," and took great care to show that he was doing it rather roughly, when in fact, he had the job done it a trice and spent the rest of the time caressing my hand for reassurance.

Finally, the rowboat made it up to the deck level. All the sailors were trying to peer into my cloak's hood, to see what this "gift" could be, but the first mate shooed them away, while Will took up the length of rope in his hands, and began to follow the first mate to the Gryffin's cabin. He knocked twice, then opened the door, let us inside, and left subtly, closing the door gently behind him.

The Gryffin certainly knew the meaning of luxury. All around us were gold and artifacts from far – off places, and a small pond stood in the middle of the room. There were expensive looking cloths draped everywhere, ornately decorated pillows were placed at random, and divans were placed around the room every so often. The colors of everything were so rich and deep: turquoises, maroons, golds, dark browns, purples, bright blues. It felt as if we had stepped into the throne room of a Sheikh.

The Gryffin soon made his appearance, carrying one small package, and one larger, rectangular one.

"Will Turner. I knew you would make it off that ship. Please, have a seat." He gestured to one of the divans, upon which Will sat upright in a perfect posture, my rope still in his hands." The Gryffin stretched out on one of the divans, and propped himself up on his elbow. He gestured at me. "Now, this 'gift' of yours?" He seemed rather amused. I knew the cloak revealed that I had a feminine shape, so at least the Gryffin was pleased by that.

Will gave the rope two tugs, and I thought to myself to play the role of an Ice Queen as pulled at the strings that held the cloak together, releasing them. I then regally set the hood away from my face, and let the cloak drop to the floor.

The Gryffin was obviously shocked. "How the hell did you find her?" He rose from his divan and came near me, circling me slowly, while I stood perfectly and utterly still.

"She was trying to escape from the 'Dutchman.' I caught her trying to lower one of the rowboats, and so got in with her, and quickly lowered the boat into the ocean."

"But why did you not return her to her father?"

"Gryffin, do you really think that Davy would reward me for escaping from his ship? Besides, you had told me only yesterday that the two of you would be wed. Naturally, I thought that the best place to return her would be to her future husband." I felt myself smile inwardly while my facial expression remained icy cold. "Future husband-" that was Will! "Furthermore, I have been pondering your offer of membership on this ship. Shall we say that this gift," Will gestured to me, "is my initiation?"

The Gryffin let out a great laugh. "I like you very much Will Turner, almost as much as I appreciate your gift." I felt the Gryffin's eyes run over me again. "You may have a place to stay and work here howsoever long you like. And when you want to leave, you may do so. Just make sure that you continue to spread the Seven Deadly Sins like the plague when you leave." The Gryffin motioned for Will to stand, and then stuck out his hand. "Do we have an accord?

"Gryffin, we do. I may leave whenever I want, and for now, I shall do the best, or shall I say the worst, I can under your service."

"Will, before you leave," the Gryffin handed him the small package, which Will opened. His eyes opened wide as he saw two wedding rings inside. "I went for the simple, here. I rarely do, as you can see," the Gryffin laughed, gesturing around the room, "but there is nothing better for this particular occasion than these. Don't you think so, Catherine?"

He passed the box around to me, and I let out an involuntary gasp of admiration. The two rings were slender and silver, one with a very small diamond set in the top. I did not doubt the pureness of either the silver or the diamond- the rings were simply beautiful.

"I thought you would think so," the Gryffin said as he snapped the box shut. "But for now, we need you to get changed out of that… thing." He gestured to my nightgown, and brought forward the rectangular box. Inside was a dress that seemed to have captured the exact color of the sea on a stormy day, the dress was a bitter midnight blue, and was also very simple. "You may use your chamber, back and to the left, to change," he said, vaguely pointing."

The dress in my arms, I walked stiffly back to "my chamber," which was beautifully decorated. I slipped the nightgown off, and swiftly put the blue dress on, trying to be as modest as I could in case there was anyone watching. The dress fit beautifully- its tight bodice which was cut only marginally lower than other dresses I had and sleeves that ended in V shapes, the points at the beginning of my middle finger. There was a sort of belt which was slung low at my waist, a sort of silver rope, which I carefully knotted so that both ends hung the length of the dress, one a bit higher than the other. The skirt of the dress itself was unremarkable; it just flowed exactly the right way and seemed to fit exactly as it should. There were blue shoes as well, with a tiny heel, which I slipped on. I looked into a mirror quickly, to find that the blue in the dress almost exactly matched my blue eyes. My black hair was let down, and was fell in curls to my waist. I timidly stepped back out into the main room, and was greeted by the applause of the Gryffin.

"Just beautiful. But it's missing something." He went round the back of me, and fastened a necklace with a fine silver chain and a small sapphire pendant. "The colors of the sea for the woman of the sea," he whispered into my ear, then followed the trail down to my neck, which he gave a prolonged kiss.

My eyes went to Will, begging for some kind of intervention, but I knew it was hopeless. Will had to gain the trust of the Gryffin before he suggested that I had grown up waiting for my wedding night, and that he hoped the Gryffin would understand that.

In the meantime, the Gryffin was very visibly enjoying the display of the new dress. He took both my hands in his, and twirled me close to him, so that my arms were crossed over my body, and he was pulling them tighter and tighter. "We shall need get to know each other, Catherine. Just eleven more days to go, you know." With that, he pressed his face into my hair and breathed in deeply, a gross perversion of what Will and I had done so lovingly earlier this morning.

"Will? I ask you to keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't escape, keep her cheerful, that sort of thing." I felt his lips press just below my earlobe one more time, before he suddenly let go of me and strode out of the room.

I crumpled to the floor, Will catching me just in time. "Good God," I heard him say, before I completely lost consciousness, "what have I done? What the hell have I done?"


	12. You Are The Sea

PotC: The Daughter of the Dead Man

I awoke to the feeling of a pair of strong arms cradling my upper torso. I immediately thought of the Gryffin, and my mind went into panic mode- my hands instinctively went to those wrapped around me, trying to brush them away, trying to force them away. I began to flail about, and caught the face of my captor with a scratch.

The arms held on tighter. "Catherine…Catherine! It's Will. Hush now, it's going to be all right."

Hearing his voice made me calm down right away, but all my rage quickly turned into hopelessness, and I began to sob in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Will. I… don't think I can do this. I'm so sorry, I'm just too… weak…"

"You can't be serious! That was the best display of bravery I've ever seen!" He brought me close to his chest again, and rocked me a little, till my tears abated and I became calm enough to sit on my own. "Catherine, if anyone should be ashamed of themselves, it's me. I should never have brought you here. I should have just tied the rowboat to the rudder of 'The Flying Dutchman' or something… anything but brought you like a bone to a dog to this vile man." The recollection of the words that I had used to describe what Jack had done when he brought me to Davy Jones wasn't lost on me. But Will was apologizing! He was genuinely sorry!

He beat his fist on the floor of the cabin. "We've just got to last till we get to the island where the chest is kept, that's all we've got to do…" He wasn't talking to me, it was clear. He looked around the room, as if for inspiration, till an idea clearly hit him.

"Catherine- take this…" he placed a small, cold item in my hand. I looked down to find a small dagger, its blade about the size of my forefinger. "The Gryffin gave it to me when you were changing. He says that it's the mark of his crew…" I looked more closely at the hilt of the dagger, and found a small Gryffin engraved right before the blade began.

"Somehow, I'll get word to you when we're near enough to the island to jump overboard and swim. When you receive it, use this to get the hell out of here- just try not to kill him, we don't want the entire crew after us… It can't be long, though. The ship is going at full speed, and we know that it's got it's certain destination… I know you can hold on for that long, I know it!" He wrapped his hands around mine, and squeezed them softly.

I slipped the small dagger into the knot of my dress' belt. I hoped that it would be easily accessible when I needed it…

There was a knock on the cabin door, and we abrubtly stood up and took a few steps apart before the door was opened by the Gryffin's first mate. "Excuse me. Mr. Turner? Miss? The Captain requests your presence on deck." He held the door open, making it clear that we were to follow him right then.

I went first, my hands clasped together, white and trembling, and Will passed behind me, as the first mate led us up the steps to the helm, where the Gryffin himself was at the wheel.

"As you know, we've been following 'The Dutchman.' I thought you might find this rather amusing…" he pointed toward the deck of the ship in front of us, where it seemed all the members of the crew were lined up, Davy Jones standing in front of them, clearly giving them a speech. "Probably the after effects of your escape," the Gryffin murmured into my ear. How had he gotten so close, so quickly? The man was like a leech!

We all heard a great shout from "The Flying Dutchman," as one of the sailors were brought forward. "BOOTSTRAP BILL!"

I heard Will take in a quick breath. They had finally found out who had assisted us… I watched more closely, as Davy Jones raised his great claw up into the air, and brought it down upon Bill's back. "No!" I cried softly gripping the edge of the ship, as two members of the crew dragged him back up, and the claw came striking down again. I looked over at Will, whose fists were clenched so tightly, I was surprised he wasn't drawing blood from his palms.

I couldn't look anymore at that horrible ship, at that horrible man that was my father, so I turned my face away and looked over and down into the sea, still hearing Bill's sharp cries as Davy Jones himself gave the unfaithful crewmember a beating.

But the Gryffin came up behind me, and took my face in his hands, pointing it ahead, forcing me to look at the terrible scene on the deck. I watched as Bill fell again and again, till the crewmates left him on the deck, huddled, kicking him as they walked by. There were tears streaming down my cheeks, right into the Gryffin's hands, but he held my head there until all the crewmen had gone back to their places.

When he finally let go, I heard him call out, "Beware of what happens to those who do not obey their Captains!"

The crewmen of "The Seven Deadly Sins" all answered, "Aye, Captain!" and went back to their work.

"You bastard." I whispered, letting the wind take the words from my lips.

The Gryffin half-turned. "What?" His eyes narrowed, but a sly smile played across his lips.

"You. BASTARD!" I shouted the last word, and could no longer contain myself. I flew at the Gryffin, my arms reaching out toward his face, my feet kicking, anywhere...I just wanted to hurt the man as awfully as I could, and hurt him now. I was screaming and crying at the same time, going for his face, his eyes, his nose. I wanted to scratch his eyes out, to leave a deep mark on that deceptively handsome face of his. I finally felt someone grab me around the middle, and I was dragged backwards. Will had caught me, both doing his duty to the Gryffin, and making sure I didn't reveal my dagger ahead of time.

"Aha! There, you see?" The Gryffin called out loudly. "And she is broken!" He came up to me, lowering himself to my level, as I was still struggling to get out of Will's grasp and attack. "The Ice Queen has been dethroned." He looked straight into my eyes and held my gaze for at least ten seconds, my rage seemed to encourage him even more. "What spirit… what passion, just like a wild horse. Just think of what you could become once you are reined in." He smiled again, then turned straight round and headed off to the main part of the deck, leaving me struggling in Will's strong grip.

"Just! Calm! Down!" Will panted. I suddenly stopped struggling, and let the feeling of exhaustion wash over me, still sniffling occasionally. "Look over to the port side, Catherine, and tell me what you see…"

I reluctantly turned around and stared off to the left side of the boat. There, I could see the tops of green palm leaves waving in the breeze.

"An hour," Will said. "Maybe less. I have to take you back to the rooms now. Do you think you can hold off till then? I will pound on the door five times when I am ready for you."

"An hour," I repeated after him, looking out at the island that was becoming clearer and clearer in the distance. "I will try."

I sat primly on a divan in the Gryffin's outer room, looking up at the great golden clock that he had above his doors. "Just a twenty minutes to go, just twenty minutes…" I whispered to myself, fingering my belt where the hidden dagger lay.

"Twenty minutes till what?" The Gryffin had emerged from his inner chambers, wearing a loose tunic and trousers. He had discarded his outer jacket on his way in, it seemed, as I saw it resting on one of the larger pillows near me. He went over to one of the full wall windows and stared out, placing his hands on his hips, then turned toward me again. "The ocean is beautiful at midday, Catherine, will you not come see?"

I sent him a look of pure hatred, then, knowing it would happen whether I wanted it to or not, walked slowly over to the window, though on the other side of it than the Gryffin was. "It is lovely, sir." I spat out each syllable.

"Yes, yes." He seemed distracted, then spoke again. "There is a reason why it's you, you know. A legend… a myth… a rumor… a whisper…" He strode over to me and gripped me by the arms. "You have the spirit of the sea in you, Catherine. How could you not, your father being who he is? They say the daughter of Davy Jones would hold as much power in her as the one she came from, possibly even more, with a mother who was strong enough to run away from him. Who would not desire such a woman at his side?"

At this, he kissed me softly on the lips, then stronger and stronger. He lifted his tunic over his head, to reveal a chest covered with battle scars. The he brought each of my fingertips to his mouth, and kissed them lightly.

"Who can blame me… for wanting the sea herself?"

He had just reached out to bring me into his arms again, when I mercifully heard five knocks at the door.

Pushing the Gryffin away, I slid the dagger out of my belt. "Hold up your hands."

The Gryffin looked surprised, but saw the shiny point of the dagger, and did as I asked. "I can never be contained," I said, moving closer, pointing the dagger at his throat. "Only by those who love me, will I chose to give myself away to. Hear this, and remember it well." I brought the dagger up to his face- that face which had taunted me, teased me, forced unwanted kisses upon me. Those hands which had made me watch as my benefactor was beaten, nearly unto death, which had been caressing my skin moments earlier. I cut him on the cheek, horizontal slice just about a quarter inch in length at his cheek bone. "The sea can be stormy and rough as well," I said. "She leaves her mark on those she despises."

I began to walk toward the door, still pointing the dagger in his direction, until I found a large, ornately decorated vase close to the door on a table. He had begun to follow me, his hands still in the air, so I threw the vase as hard as I could at his head, hoping to knock him out. My aim was true, and soon the Gryffin was lying on the floor in a heap.

I ran to the door and opened it quickly, letting Will in. He stared at the shirtless Gryffin on the floor, then looked up at me. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing. You were just in time, I think. Please, let's get out of here."

Will made his way through the room and opened the window where the Gryffin and I had just been standing. "C'mon, if we jump off the back we're less likely to be seen." I took the dagger and plunged it into the wood on the window sill, and, wanting to rid myself of all reminders of this boat, I unclasped the sapphire necklace, and hung around the hilt of the dagger.

Will watched me carefully, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before we climbed up onto the windowsill and prepared to jump.

"What was that for?" I asked, quickly.

Will stared at me. "For my stupid mistake."

And we jumped into the warm waters of the Carribbean, swimming straight for the island with the chest of Davy Jones buried somewhere upon it.


	13. The Chest of Davy Jones

TDotDM

I swam strongly, trying both to reach the land quickly before anyone spotted us and to work out all my anger physically. With each stroke, I imagined I was pounding the Gryffin's face, then Davy Jones' then Jack Sparrow's. I kept up my frantic pace until I heard Will call, "Slow down, Catherine! It's not that short of a swim this time…" I didn't pay any attention to him, and my limbs were crying out by the time I reached the white sandy shore of the island. I lay there, face up and spread-eagle, staring at the sky, perfectly still, letting my body recover from the vigorous exercise.

Will reached the shore not long after, a good deal less tired than I seemed to be. He came over to my still form, and leaned down, grinning, and said, "For once in my life, I can say 'I told you so.'" Then something caught his gaze, and he straightened immediately. I reluctantly pushed myself up from the sand, and followed his gaze.

Not twenty meters away from us were Jack, Pintel, and Ragetti, as well as two others: another, more slender form, dressed in men's clothing, and a scruffy looking man in a deteriorated Navy costume, both of whom I didn't recognize.

"Elizabeth?" Will whispered under his breath, as if he didn't believe his eyes. He began to walk toward the group, leaving me, panting, behind.

The group looked our way, and the slender form suddenly came running at Will, and jumped into his arms, kissing him madly about his face. "You're here! You're safe!" the form cried, in a decidedly feminine voice.

Although I tried to look down, or at least to the other members of the group, I couldn't take my eyes off the pair of them. She was so possessive, and rightly so. Will had wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, twirling her about.

It was as if someone had stabbed the Gryffin's dagger straight into my heart.

I hardly noticed as a presence began to approach me, knelt down beside me, and said, "Are you alright? That was quite a swim, we saw you jumping off the back of the ship." It was the scruffy man, who looked even dirtier up close. But his face was concerned, so I answered, "Yes, thank you. I'm alright." I attempted to get up from the sand again, but my arms gave in and I flopped straight back down.

"Right, then." The man offered his hand to me, which I thankfully grabbed, but tried not to put too much of my weight on his arm. I didn't want anyone to think I couldn't handle myself.

"James Norrington." He said, as we walked toward the other three. He saw as I looked back at the still reuniting pair of Will and Elizabeth. "They'll be at it for a while." He said, rather bitterly.

"I wasn't looking." I lied.

"Right. Well, here you are."

Having regained my strength, I stood up among Pintel, Ragetti, and Jack. I was utterly surprised at the look on Jack's face. Was that regret upon his sun-weathered face? I was taken aback. He wasn't lying when he said my first impression of him had changed…

The joyous Will and Elizabeth soon returned to us, and I avoided Will's gaze.

"Ahem." Jack coughed, then motioned to a half-dug hole in the sand. "Shall we carry on, everyone? Pintel? I believe you were shoveling."

"What are you digging for this time, Jack Sparrow, buried treasure that you found with a map with an 'X' on it?" I looked suspiciously into the hole, forcing myself to participate, to be cheerful.

"Something much more better." Pintel's shovel struck something hard, and Jack climbed into the hole, and began to swipe sand out of his way, then uncovered something rectangular, and brought it out. "The chest of Davy Jones." He proclaimed.

We all stared at it for a few seconds, realizing the enormity of the occasion. "How…how did you find it?" I broke the silence, kneeling down to feel the contours of the chest.

"Well, that would have been Elizabeth, actually speaking. She was the one holding the compass, you see." Jack Sparrow giving credit where it was rightly due? I raised my eyebrow at him. He coughed again. "And now all we need is the key."

"We've got it." Will brought out a string around his neck, and held out the key to the chest, then continued, "Jack, and I really thought no good would come of you having press-ganged me onto that ship..."

"Press-ganged?" Elizabeth shrieked suddenly, than added quickly, "Jack, you said that he was captured… kidnapped!"

James Norrington snorted.

"Ah, yes, well." Jack shifted his eyes a bit. "The main thing is that's he's safe now, right love? He's off the ship, no matter how he got on, and all's well that ends well, eh?"

Elizabeth looked at him with furious eyes, and opened her mouth to say something, but I, of all people, stopped her. "Pardon me. But there is the small matter of having both the key and the chest in our possession. Should we not put the two together and open it?" I said it rather softly, both to remind everyone of our main purpose and that I was still there.

Everyone stared at me. "And you are…?" Elizabeth said, a somewhat scornful tone in her voice.

"Excuse me. Catherine Jones." I paused. "I was captured at the same time as Will, onto

'The Flying Dutchman.' He was good enough to help me escape." I looked down, swallowing the tears that were hiding at the back of my throat. "And you must be Elizabeth… Will spoke nothing but your praises the entire trip." I looked up, straight into her eyes as I said it.

It was clear she was surprised at my answer, but quickly recovered, and came over to grasp my hand. "Catherine. It's a pleasure," but her tone didn't match her words.

Will looked at the both of us, clearly at a loss for something to say, and Jack took the opportunity to snatch the key out of his hand. "Good then. Introductions made. Shall we proceed?"

He knelt down beside the chest, and, with the shovel, split off the rusty padlock. Jack opened it quickly, and began to sift through all the things that were in it- letters, dried flowers, and the like. I gasped, recognizing them as the marks of my parents' now dead love.

"Aha!" He reached his hands in an pulled out another, smaller chest, and quickly fit the key into the oddly shaped lock. The chest began to make a sort of clicking noise, and then suddenly, the lid was ajar. He slowly opened it, and we all huddled in to get a look at the thing inside.

Only one object was in the chest- a small, beating heart.

I think we were all in awe for a couple of moments – we were witnessing the reality of a legend so often told. Even I, who knew there would be such a thing inside the chest, was somewhat surprised to actually see it there, thumping still without its master.

Will broke the reverie by pulling a short knife out of his belt, and pushed Jack aside, leaning down and aiming it at the heart. "For you, Father," he said, and pulled his knife back, ready to strike.

"I'm sorry, Will. I can't let you do that." Jack's sword was suddenly unsheathed, and pointing at Will. "You see, if you destroy that thing, then who's going to pull the beastie off me? So hand the whole thing over, if you please."

But James Norrington has unsheathed his sword as well, and was pointing it at Jack. "And hand it straight to me, then, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow," he said, spitting out the "captain" as sarcastically as he could.

"Why the hell do you want it? You're not trying to avenge a debted family member, are you? Perhaps you think it'll go on the black market for a Commodore reassignment?" Jack said indignantly, his upper torso leaning back from the point of the sword.

"Exactly. God, how I hate you, Jack Sparrow, and both you and I know I would be perfectly willing to slit your throat, chest or no chest. But unfortunately, I rather need that chest first."

Will had stood up now, having first grabbed the key from the lock and hanging it around his neck, his own sword out, pointing at Norrington.

A few seconds past, and then they began to fight. All three of them, shifting their ground out toward the more open sand.

"How'd this go all screwy?" Pintel asked the general population left who hadn't their swords out.

"Well, Will's wants the 'eart because 'e wants to avenge 'is father, don't 'e? And Jack wants it so's he can negotiate with ol' Davy Jones to call off the Kraken from him. And Norrington's just tryin' to regain his honor." Ragetti nodded knowledgably.

Pintel stared at him. "Who made you so bloomin' smart, all of a sudden?"

Elizabeth and I stared after the threesome, but shuffled a bit so Pintel and Ragetti could fight this one out on their own.

"Who are you, anyway?" She asked, as soon as we were out of earshot of the squabbling pair.

"I'm… nobody. Really." I didn't think it was the right time to tell her that I was Will's… other…fiancée. Well, was I though? I mean, he had said that it wasn't a replacement, but… people can get pretty desperate when they think they're in horrible situations. I must have looked like I was revealing less than I knew, because suddenly Elizabeth moved away.

"Why do they have do bring the damn swords out? I'm so sick of pirates, rum soaked, sword fighting PIRATES!" She kicked the sand firmly with her right boot, and ran after them, picking up rocks and throwing them, and shouting things to try and get their attention.

I watched her running and jumping about, and took a seat on the sand. This would take a while.

I almost immediately regretted doing so, however, because without Elizabeth, or even Pintel and Ragetti to talk to, my mind was forced to think. What if… what if everything from the time Will kissed me, on… was a lie? What if he was just using me to get himself off the boat? No, he didn't have to come back for me, either time. "DAMNIT!" I cried, feeling some understanding for my father for the first time in my life. I felt like I wanted to rip my heart out, just to stop me from feeling anything at all.

I looked out toward the sea, my one constant source of calm and inspiration. But now, there wasn't just one ship anchored in the vicinity of the island. There were three. "The Flying Dutchman" and "The Seven Deadly Sins" had arrived.

I could see the crewmen from both ships in rowboats, coming closer to the shores of the island at every second. I could see Davy Jones standing at the starboard side of his ship, shouting orders to his crewmen. I could see the Gryffin, standing at the head of his ship, with a determined look on his face. Good God. He had seen me.

Running over to Elizabeth, I grabbed a hold of her arms and stopped her moving about.

"And YOU!" She was still shouting. "Just showing up here, 'he was good enough to help me escape.' What a load of BULLSHIT! I could see the way he was looking at you, you hussy!"

I slapped her to make her shut up. "Look. I don't really care what you think about me right now, but there are a lot of very skilled pirates rowing to shore at this very moment. Right now, we need to go. And quickly." I glanced down at the sword at her belt. "Do you know how to use that thing?"

She had recovered from the shock of my slap. "Of course I do."

"Good. Do you have another, a knife, a dagger, anything else on you?" She handed over a knife that was about six inches long. I tested it for dullness, and found that it had been sharpened fairly recently. "All right. Now, some of these pirates are not quite… human." I judged her reaction, and was fairly surprised when she seemed to take it in stride. "Go for their gut, it's their most vulnerable place. The other set won't be a bed of daisies either, but I suspect that they'll take any women they find unharmed. At first."

She set her jaw, then nodded briskly. "Let's head into the jungle. At least we're not a couple of sitting ducks then."

I was relieved she had caught on so quickly.

"Right," I answered, and added quickly, "thank you for believing me."

Her eyes widened. "You're welcome. Now, let's save the sharing of feelings for later, shall we?" She began to walk toward the jungle, giving me no choice but to follow. This dress was going to be quite a large inconvenience, I could tell…

We began to walk at a brisk pace toward the jungle, both our weapons out, ready for the onslaught of pirates that was coming, in minutes at the most.


	14. The Chest's Flight, The Lovers Unite

PotC: The Daughter of the Dead Man

Hiking my skirt to my knees with my left hand, and brandishing the long knife in my right, I followed Elizabeth into the forest. We ran until were about one hundred meters in, then turned around to face the oncoming rush of pirates.

"Go for the gut, go for the gut," I could hear Elizabeth murmuring under her breath.

Suddenly, the bottom of my stomach dropped out. We had left the chest on the beach! "Oh, God."

"What?" Elizabeth broke out of her chant.

"The chest. We left it on the open beach. There's no one protecting it!"

"There's Pintel and Ragetti…"

"Please. Do you really think they would do anything for it? They're probably running away as fast as they can right now…" my breath was rushed, and sure enough, I saw the two men hurry past us, chest-less.

"Catherine. Will has the key."

"But if they have the chest, they have the heart. D'you really think we'd be in any position to negotiate then?"

"But the key…"

"DAMN the key! We've got to have BOTH away from Davy Jones. D'you think his conscience would keep his crew from killing any one of us, once that chest is in his possession?" I stepped out from behind the tree I was hiding behind, and began to sprint toward the beach again, leaving the dumbstruck Elizabeth behind.

I reached the chest fairly quickly, and tucked it under my arm, watching in horror as the rowboats docked at the sandy beach and the pirates began to unload, running straight toward me. I felt someone at my side, and turned to see Elizabeth standing there, her sword ready to strike.

"All right. Here they come," she said.

We didn't want to run with our backs to the enemy, so we began to run backward as quickly as we could, facing the pirates, who were coming closer by the second.

Running backwards, I suddenly tripped on the train of my dress, and fell to the sand, feeling my right foot splay awkwardly under me. Sprawled there, I looked at Elizabeth in horror as she stopped to come and help me up. "NO!" I shouted, and tossed the chest to her. "Get as far away as you can. DON'T LET THEM GET THAT CHEST!!"

She looked at me one last time, then nodded briskly, and turned and sprinted back into the jungle, back into cover, tucking the small chest under her arm.

I tried to stand up, but my foot crumpled beneath me. "DAMN!" Whether it was broken or just sprained, I wouldn't be able to run now. I spotted a good-sized rock nearby, and crawled to it, using it to help myself up onto my good left foot. Davy Jones' pirates arrived first, slowing down as they approached me.

"She doesn't have it!" One of them said, the one with the pointy spikes all over his body. I knew him to be the first mate of "The Flying Dutchman." "Continue into the jungle. I'll take good care of Miss Jones…" his smile was twisted, and I felt the rush of creatures pass me, until it was just me and the pointy sailor.

"Come on now, Miss. Your father's been missing you," he started to come at me with that same twisted smile, holding out his arms to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder. The long knife hidden behind my back, I waited for the best possible moment, and swung back to stab the sailor in the stomach with an upward motion just as his right arm prepared to scoop me up.

I hit my mark, and slime poured from the wound, as he staggered back and held it, clearly surprised.

"That's for Bill!" I cried, and watched as the slime continued to ooze from the wound, finally forcing the sailor to crumple to the sand, where he eventually lay still. I felt a small sense of accomplishment, but it didn't last long, as the Gryffin's sailors approached the dead body of the sailor from the "Dutchman," and looked at me warily.

I stood, supporting myself on the rock, brandishing the long knife, now dripping with fish slime.

"Just try and touch me. Just try…" I murmured threateningly, swaying the knife back and forth slowly. But there were ten of them, and only one of me… and I remembered the Gryffin's determined expression at the front of the ship.

They neared me in a semi-circle, and two of them unsheathed their swords, the rest kept their weapons in their belts. "We'll try, all right. And I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll get it right," one of the ones with his sword out said, as he quickly came arouned the back of me and raised the hilt of his sword over my head, preparing to knock me out with it. I closed my eyes and prepared for the blow, but it didn't come. I twisted my head around, to see… but it couldn't be!

Jack Sparrow had run his sword through the sailor's body, and now came 'round in front of me, his sword still out, poised to strike. The sailors came at him at once, then, and he deftly ran his sword through many of them, but one slipped past, and I plunged my long knife as hard as I could into his heart.

They soon lay on the ground, dead.

"Good work, love. Is that all of them, then?"

"I… I think so. All the rest of Davy Jones' crew are off in the jungle. Elizabeth grabbed the chest…"

But Jack brought something out of his jacket – Davy Jones' chest.

I gaped. "But… where's Elizabeth then?"

"She's headed back for the boat. I think we got most of them. Does that thing hurt much? Can you walk on it?"

I tried to put my weight on my right foot, and sparkles appeared in front of my eyes, my head spinning. "I don't think so… but what about Will? And Norrington?"

My question was soon answered, as a huge wheel came out of the forest, the two men shifting on top, still sword fighting. It would have been funny if we weren't all in such a dire situation.

"All questions answered? Good. Now, I'm going to lift you on three. Ready? One, two, three!" He hoisted me in the air, bridal-style, and began to run toward one of the empty rowboats.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" I was flabbergasted. This man wasn't suppose to be acting this way…

"I told you, love. Your first impression of me has changed somewhat." We reached the longboat, the first ones there, and he set me down gingerly on one of the seats. "We'll tend to that in a bit," he said, gesturing to my foot. "But now…"

I watched as he opened the chest, and took his jar of dirt from a corner of the longboat, emptied some of the dirt, and placed the beating heart inside, then scooped some of the dirt back into the jar, and shook it, making sure the heart was invisible. He set the chest at the bottom of the boat, and set the jar of dirt next to it carefully. As soon as he was done, he looked up, and spotted something.

"Oh, bugger." I turned around to see Elizabeth running at full speed to the boat, being chased by three or four of Davy Jones' crewmen. He ran after her, drawing his sword again.

Suddenly, I heard a great splash, and shifted round so I could see that the giant wheel had crashed down sideways into the water, and saw a very dizzy Will begin to emerge from it's wooden axles.

"Oi! Will!" I called, trying to get his attention. His head looked about aimlessly, and then he saw the boat, and started to make his way toward it, very slowly and drunkenly, tripping every few steps. Norrington emerged from the wheel as well, but it looked as if he had much better balance, as he came up behind Will and half carried, half dragged him to the boat, where Will flopped into my lap, unconscious.

"Will, Will!" I leaned down after tossing a grateful glance to Norrington, who had just spotted the chest and jar of dirt sitting side by side.

Will blinked open his eyes. "Catherine? 'Sat you?"

I cried out with joy, as I felt another weight sit beside me in the boat. Elizabeth had finally made it, and I screwed my head around to see if Jack was coming too. It looked as if he was fighting off the last soldier, who soon fell to the ground, then he, too, began to run toward the longboat, and sat in it quickly, across from Elizabeth.

What no one had counted on, of course, was the sheer amount of Davy Jones' sailors that had been sent off to the island. Now that we were all in one place, they began to near us, all their swords and weapons out.

"START ROWING!" Jack called out, but Norrington suddenly picked up the chest, and jumped out of the boat, running through the throng of armed sailors, back toward the jungle. He held the chest above his head, yelling, "Oi! Oi! I've got it! C'mon then! I've got it!"

The sailors all turned around, and began to run after Norrington, as we stared after him.

"What a brave man…" Elizabeth said, shaking her head.

"What a stupid man." Jack said, then looked into Elizabeth's face. "Just like me. I almost lost you."

I quickly turned my attentions to Will, trying not to hear this conversation. Will was beginning to rouse from his state of unconsciousness, and was struggling to sit up when I heard Elizabeth say, "Jack… I thought I wouldn't ever see you again…" her voice trembled.

As a hand claps, the two suddenly were brought together, almost as if by powers unknown to them, and embraced. Elizabeth framed Jack's face with her hands, tears streaming down her face. "I thought… I would never get to tell you…"

Jack held one of his fingers up to her mouth. "I know, love, I know." He brought his head close to hers, and they kissed.

By this time, Will was fully alert, and watching the whole thing, a confused expression replaced by a joyous one.

Elizabeth turned to him, and started to say slowly, "Will, I've got to tell you something…"

Will laughed, and said, "Elizabeth, I've got to tell YOU something…"

Elizabeth stared at me for a moment, and Will stared at Jack, and the four of us burst out laughing. I embraced Elizabeth warmly, as she whispered in my ear, "I'm glad there is someone such as you to take care of him."

We parted, and watched as Jack and Will shook hands, a huge grin on Jack's face.

"Well, glad this is all out in the open, everyone. Would've hated to have kept on seeing Elizabeth behind your back, Will." His eyes twinkled.

The longboat had reached the "The Black Pearl," and we all climbed the nets, Will practically carrying me up, and arrived on deck once more.

Pintel and Ragetti were sitting in a corner of the ship, dripping wet. It looked as if they had swum the distance.

Mr. Gibbs approached Jack slowly. "And… the former Commodore?"

"He ran off with the chest to save us all," Elizabeth told him.

Mr. Gibbs removed his hat, and motioned for the rest of the crew to do the same. After a moment of silence, he came up to me, reached for my hand, and pumped it up and down vigorously. "We're glad to have you back, Catherine."

I began to step forward to greet the crew again, but winced and let out a little whimper of pain as I put weight on my right foot.

Will immediately knelt down to the deck and lifted the hem of my dress, examining my foot. "What happened?" He looked up. "It's very swollen, I don't think it's broken, but it needs to be bound for support."

Jack grinned mischievously. "You can take her down to her rooms, I believe there should be some linen there. As well as a nice, soft bed to keep her comfortable."

"Ho now," Will held up his hand, but then an idea struck him. "Jack, you're a Captain, right?"

"Yes…"

"Marry us."

I turned my face to Will, elated. "Really? You're sure you still want to marry me? After…"

"After what? I proposed to you, didn't I? Let's make it official." He took my hand in his, and faced Jack. "Well? Go on with it, then."

Mr. Gibbs had already fetched a Bible from the captain's quarters, and Jack told us to place our hands on it.

"Catherine, do you?"

"Yes…" I smiled at the unorthodoxy of the ceremony.

"Will, do you?"

"Yes!"

"All right then, you're good. I pronounce you man and wife." He grinned. "You may kiss the bride, but personally, I would save that for after the foot is fixed." Elizabeth elbowed him in the stomach, as Will picked me up bridal-style and headed down to my – our – cabin.

He lay me on the bed, tenderly, and went to the closet to search for some linen. There, on the top shelf, was the remainder of my bindings. I laughed at the irony of it all. They would be used for quite a different purpose this time…

Will sat at the end of the bed, and gently took my right foot in his hands, and removed the shoe. He began winding the linen around it tightly, again and again, until I could feel the support it gave me. He tucked the end of the linen into the wrap, then came up to sit by me. He brought his arms under my back, and lifted me slowly up to his lips, and we kissed, slowly, passionately. I encircled my arms around his shoulders, and he moved his down to my waist, bringing me even closer into his embrace.

We parted after what seemed a happy eternity, resting our heads on each other's shoulders, and I heard him sigh, "Catherine…"

I leaned back for a moment. "Finally, the right girl," I murmured, smiling sweetly at him, then laughed in surprise as Will brought his lips down to my ear.

"Most definitely, the right girl."

He lay me back down on the bed, lay down beside me, and started to rhythmically stroke the inside of my arm, resting his head in the space between my shoulder and my head.

Before I let myself succumb to his caresses, I thought how ironic it was that the ship that had given me so much pain in my life, had now given me my greatest pleasure- my husband, Will Turner. I was no longer Catherine Jones, the daughter of the dead man. I was Catherine Turner, the wife of a pirate. I smiled at the thought, and turned on my side to wrap my arms around the man I loved.


	15. A New Day

Will and I were sound asleep when I was awoken by the sun, rising slowly over the eastern horizon by the sea. I began to slowly move, wondering where I was, and why there was this heavy presence in the bed beside me. Then, I remembered.

Will and I were married, had just been yesterday, by Captain Jack Sparrow.

I smiled in my state of drowsiness, and snuggled more deeply into Will. We had ended up facing each other, under the bedclothes, and my hands were brought up, pressed against his bare chest. My head rested on his shoulder, and one of his arms was wrapped around my waist, holding me close, the other was resting on my head, his fingers woven in my tousled hair.

I lifted my head slightly to see him sleeping peacefully, and blew gently into his face. He wrinkled his nose and furrowed his brow, and brought the hand that was in my hair up to his face, as if to swat a fly away. I laughed, and he opened his eyes briefly, only to shut them again.

"Today is a new day." I whispered at him.

"Mmmmfph." Then his eyes opened again, and he looked down into my face. "It wasn't a dream, then?" He said, breaking out into a wide smile.

I gently pinched his chest. "Apparently not."

He let out a great laugh, and kissed my forehead. "Wonderful."

"Come on, we can't stay in bed all day…"

"Can't we?"

But I was already sitting up and putting on some of the men's clothes that one of the crewmen had lent me. I'd learnt my lesson about traipsing around in a dress on a pirate ship.

"No, we can't. You're going to teach me to swordfight. I've had enough of daggers and long knives, and not being sure I'm going to hit my mark." I was standing now, buttoning up my white shirt and fixing the black vest over it.

He reluctantly sat up, and I tossed him his clothes, then laughed at the state of his hair, which had somehow ended up all over the place. I sat down on the bed again, and ran my fingers through it, getting it to stay flat.

Will took the opportunity to surround me in a great bear hug, and smother my face with kisses.

"Will… WILL!" He had my arms in a vise.

"One proper kiss, and then I swear I'll get up…" He said, while I playfully tried to push his arms away.

"Oh all right," I said in a hard-put-on tone. He released me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck again, felt his familiar touch at my waist, brought my face up to his, and gave him a long, drawn-out, "proper" kiss.

We broke apart, smiling, our foreheads touching, and I whispered, "Now will you get dressed?"

And it was a scramble of limbs as he reached for his clothes and put them on in about a minute's time, and stood up, grinning.

"So, you want to learn to sword-fight, do you? Good thing you've come to me…" He took my hand and led me through the passageways of the ship's galley, until we came to the armory. All sorts of swords and spears, guns, daggers, and knives lined the walls.

Will handed me a wooden sword, and adjusted my grip on it. "Right, then. That's step one. How to properly hold the thing…"

I actually made some good progress, and Will suggested that we move on to real swords. A little nervous, but confident after having not been hit once by wood, I accepted one of the swords from him, and we assumed our offensive positions. After about a half an hour of sparring, Will congratulated me, "Well done, Catherine! Well done!"

I handed him my sword, but ran into him as the ship came to a sudden stop, the sword cutting me slightly on my left arm.

"What the hell was that?" I said, clamping my right arm on the cut. Will let the swords drop, looking in the general direction of the deck. Then he saw the blood leaking from under my hand, and pushed me to a box to sit.

"God, what happened?"

"It just slipped, it's alright. Just a binding, or something. It's not deep at all."

He lifted my right hand gently to have a look at the wound, and let his breath out heavily. "You're right. It's not a bad cut. I'll just go grab some linen, we keep some down here for minor accidents…" In a few minutes, he had my arm wrapped up, and kissed it gently. "There, all better." I smiled at him.

"And here, I have something to make it even more better…" Will pulled a small box out of his pocket, and opened it. I gasped at the sight of two golden wedding bands jangling around inside.

"Will! But how…"

"Another thing to be thankful to Jack for, I suppose. He said he bought them in Tortuga, there was a bag of golden… bangles? He traded them for these."

I laughed. The gold from the island had come in handy, indeed! As Will slipped the smaller of the pair onto my ring finger, and I slipped the larger onto his, I laughed, "I wonder where he found wedding rings in Tortuga, the last place in the world where anybody would get married!"

"Well, I suppose we'd better see what's going on up deck…" Will helped me up, and we walked, arm in arm, up the galley stairs.

Will was the first one up, and he suddenly stopped, forcing me to stop behind him. "Will! What's going on? Let me see!" But he turned slightly around and put his finger to his lips.

"Aha! Will Turner!" A voice from the deck called. My heart nearly stopped. The Gryffin had found his way aboard "The Black Pearl."

"Oi! Will! Perhaps you should be able to help me… I seem to have lost my fiancée again, and you were so helpful in finding her last time…" His tone was joking, jovial almost.

I backed down a couple of steps, trying not to breathe, trying not to make a sound, leaning against the railway, terrified.

"For you see, if I don't find her, and soon, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to start dispatching members of the crew. And I'm sure that no one wants that…"

I poked my head around the stairway, and saw that one of the Gryffin's pirates was standing behind Mr. Gibbs – my dear Mr. Gibbs – with a knife at his throat.

My heart wrenched in two. I knew Will would never speak, but I couldn't – WOULDN'T let the blood of my friends and companions be spilt on my behalf. Holding my fist to my chest, I went up the steps and stepped onto the deck of "The Black Pearl" wearily.

"Gryffin, here I stand."

Will turned toward me, his face the picture of misery. I could not look at him.

I walked straight up to him, and saw the cut I had made on his cheek had scabbed over. I brought my left hand up to his face, and slowly smiled. "But what you want, you cannot have."

His smile of joviality and triumph turned sour, and he grabbed my wrist. "Who is it?" He spat. His harsh whispering turned to a shout. "Who took what was not theirs to take!" I prayed Will would keep silent.

The wind echoed through the deck; no one spoke.

"Gentlemen, take her to the 'Sins.'" I felt a pair of strong arms grab me roughly, and watched in horror as the Gryffin walked up to Will. My eyes darted to his left hand, and I breathed a sigh of relief to see that he had slipped off the wedding ring quickly. Mr. Cotton, standing beside him, I was sure had just received in for safekeeping.

The Gryffin stared Will in the face, but Will didn't flinch.

Suddenly the Gryffin whirled around again, and headed toward his crew. "Young Mr. Turner will be accompanying us."

Will stepped in line behind the Gryffin. Of course he would not want to appear as if he was going to be unfaithful to that order. Will's eyes caught mine quickly and then went back to the deck.

"Good." The Gryffin spat. "Now that everyone of value is off this ship, I can tell Davy Jones to carry on." He smiled sadistically. "Gentlemen of the 'Pearl,' I bid you adieu. You can expect much more unpleasant visitor than me within the hour."

"The Kraken…" I whispered, horrified, under my breath. Jack still had the black spot on his left hand!

"Let us leave this place. NOW!" The Gryffin ordered his crew. "Will!"

Will's head snapped to attention.

"I am counting on you to watch over this woman, and find out all you can." He handed a bit of rope to Will, who tied my hands behind me, and marched me to the rowboat that would led us back to "The Seven Deadly Sins."

We were the last two to leave the deck, and I whispered to Mr. Gibbs, "As soon as the boat stops, get your weapons ready – sword, spear, ax, gun, cannon, anything. As soon as the boat stops, it's here." He nodded grimly, as Will squeezed my hand comfortingly and led me into the longboat.

Once again, I was headed to "The Seven Deadly Sins," but this time, it was hard to know if Will and I would escape.


	16. Feathers Plucked, Mane Shaved

The bright afternoon sun shone directly into my eyes as I looked back toward the deck of "The Black Pearl" as "Seven Deadly Sins" began to sail at due haste in the opposite direction.

"Both of you, into my cabin. Now!" The Gryffin shouted as I finally looked away.

Will hadn't got a hold of me anymore, I could tell by the rough pushing. I looked wildly around to see, to my horror that he was not walking of his own accord – the first mate had grabbed his wrists from the back, and was forcing him toward the Gryffin's cabin. I started to struggle immediately, the loose bonds that Will had tied coming undone, but before I could move another sailor gripped my arms and started pushing again.

What could have happened? Who could have tipped the Gryffin off?

Two sailors opened the Gryffin's double doors, and smiled at us mockingly as they stood at attention at both doors. With one final push, I was inside the Gryffin's cabin, falling toward the floor. I hit the floor with a thump, and it echoed as Will fell beside me.

"Stand up." The Gryffin said, his tone silky again.

I scrambled to my feet, and saw the Gryffin leaning against the window ledge Will and I had jumped out from – only yesterday? He had something small and silver in his hand, and he was twirling its point, slowly, on the sill, its edge every so often reflecting the dazzling sunlight.

"This," he began, "is a very… unique dagger. I have it made for all my crew, you see. I go to the best silversmith to get them made. It is said that his silver is so soft, so pure, that you can still make marks in it about a day after it's made. I get another whenever I meet a new prospect." He nodded at Will. "When I give it to him, I show him the Gryffin crest, tell him that this dagger is the physical embodiment of what makes them 'belong.' But I have found," he continued as he made his way across the room, taking slow steps almost as if he were strolling along, "that sometimes a man may commit to something for the wrong reasons." He sat on one of the divans, and laughed as if at a good joke. "You know, one man signed on, expecting he would get 'revenge' for a loved one's death. He killed the sailor responsible, and then made his way off 'The Sins.'" His speech changed, as if he was disappointed at a mess a child had made. "But they always leave these behind." He held up the dagger, the hilt between his thumb and forefinger, letting the point hand down.

Will suddenly spoke out, "That's all very interesting. And why are you telling this to us, again?"

"Because, my dear Will Turner, they leave the very sentencing of their death for me to take advantage of." He suddenly stood up, and swiftly closed the few feet of space between us, holding the dagger at a precise angle to the light. We could see the writing scratched out, very near the hilt. "If left behind, permission granted to kill owner." Then in a small, neat etching. "William Turner."

"I find that if a man leaves behind the only physical proof that he's a part of my crew, that he doesn't want to BE a part of my crew. Or didn't want to. I'm usually right…"

Suddenly, he drew his arm back, and flung the dagger straight at the pair of us, close together now to see the dagger's etching.

I had Will's fast reflexes as a swordsman to thank: I felt his arms wrap around me and drag me to the floor, as we heard the dagger strike the wood behind us. We stayed their on our knees, I turned my head and looked at it embedded in the wood, still wobbling from the impact, right behind where my forehead had been.

"…Right again, it seems."

"Right… about… what?" Will asked, panting. He hadn't let go of me, we were still kneeling there on the floor, crouched together.

"The fact that you, Mr. Turner, joined my crew for the wrong reason!!" These last two words were shouted, as the Gryffin brought out one of his arms and formed his hand to point… at me.

Will slowly stood up, one arm firmly placed across my shoulders, while the other went to his pocket, and pulled out a plain gold wedding band. "I beg to differ. The right reason entirely." He slipped the ring back onto his ring finger, and spread out his hand so the Gryffin could fully see it.

"I knew it!" The Gryffin snarled.

It seemed still for a couple of seconds, and the doors to the Gryffin's cabin opened. The sailors entered, brandishing their swords.

"Captain? Ev'rythin' goin' all roight in 'ere?" one said.

"Back to your posts! How could you think of interrupting?"

"Well, we figgered we were 'earin' 'is voice," he gestured at Will, "when it shouldn't be 'eard… and we was comin' to 'elp ya…"

The interruption made me unfreeze, as I had been stuck, unmoving, since the dagger's throw. I quickly began to look around, for something… anything that I could use to defend myself. My sword was wooden, left from practicing that morning, but it was strong, so I placed my hand on its hilt anyway. Will noticed the movement, and he glanced down at his own wooden sword, then caught my eye. There was a flicker of hope there. He nodded, subtly, as the irritating pirates were convinced and placated, and sent to their barracks, closing the double doors behind them.

The Gryffin ran his hand through his hair and exhaled deeply. "Will Turner, you knew of the contract between her father and I, and yet you still married her?"

"She has a name." Will spat.

I spoke up for the first time, "It's Catherine. Turner." I unsheathed my wooden sword and went at the Gryffin, Will close behind me. I hit him hard, right in his gut, and he doubled over, while Will quickly knelt and drew the Gryffin's own sword, and pointed it at his throat.

"You think you can kill me?" The Gryffin chuckled. "Boy, clearly you do not understand. I always win. I always get what I want… eventually. I am, after all, The Gryffin." His voice slipped into a higher register at this last, as if he were about to throw a tantrum.

"Not this time," Will said grimly, and ran the sword through the Gryffin's heart.

I stared past the dead body of the Gryffin, through the window, out to the sea. "God grant him peace…" I whispered, and heard Will's voice echo me.

It is a hard thing, to kill a human being and not feel any remorse, no matter how virtuous their lives were. I have known only a few people in my life who are capable of doing so. My father, for one. The Gryffin, for another. So when Will wrapped his arms around me, and I felt his tears wet my hair as mine wet his hands, I loved him even more for it.


	17. Beauty Found Within the Beast

Will withdrew the Gryffin's sword from his body, carefully wiping the blade on one of the pillows nearby, and respectfully slid it back into his sheath. I touched him on the shoulder, telling him in a motion to leave. He nodded slowly, then stood up, and we searched the room for a pair of swords.

Our search led us to the Gryffin's private chambers, which were even more decadent than the outer rooms, if that was possible. It inspired a kind of awe; I knew that not many people had seen the inside of this room willingly, so I began my search, almost tip-toeing.

Will found them first, in a large wardrobe across from the huge sleigh-style bed. He gestured for me to come over, and I gasped as I looked at the inside.

It seemed that the Gryffin was, of all things, a painter. Several canvases faced us, portraits of the sea, of the ship, a self-portrait of the Gryffin, and one at the back that stunned me. He had painted… me. It was a profile, and I was staring regally into the sea, the wind blowing my hair in all directions, but gracefully. He had painted me in the blue dress, with the sapphire placed around my neck, my left hand visible, with the silver wedding ring delicately resting on it. At the bottom, above his signature, he had written in a curly script: Catherine. His signature was small, so that I had to squint to see it clearly. "Kevin." I looked back through every portrait, and found the same small signature at the bottom right of the canvas. "Kevin."

We had finally found the Gryffin's true name. I wondered how many people in the world were privy to this information…

Will placed his hands on my upper arms, and leaned his head on my shoulder. "How could such a monster produce such beauty?" I spoke my question to the room, as if it would answer me.

"I don't think," Will began, "I don't know that every person is truly evil, there must be some sort of good or beauty hidden inside them. Your father, even. He played the organ, he made the most haunting tunes come out of that instrument, they made me want to weep."

I could recall my father's playing, the memory so old, that it had almost faded away. It was when I had first arrived on the ship, and would not be calmed by anything. I wouldn't sleep, or eat, or let anyone touch me. And my father took my inside his outer chamber,, and watched my eyes find the great instrument, as my jaw gaped, both in awe and exhaustion.

"Sit down." He had said, and I had obediently placed myself on a stool near the magnificent organ. "I played this for… for… your mother."

His tentacles spread over the keys, as well as his one hand, and the organ to make a noise that I had never heard before. It was achingly sad and beautiful, and I strained my ears to catch every note, every bit of harmony, but at the same time the music began to lull me to sleep.

As I fell into unconsciousness, I felt someone pick me up, his arms both rough and gentle, and carry me into my cabin, place me on my bed, and draw the covers over me.

It was the only instance of kindness and softness that I ever experienced with him.

Remembering, I placed my hands on top of Will's, I turned around, taking Will's hands in my own, and said softly, "We must go."

He nodded, and handed me a finely made sword which I slipped into my sheath, as he did the same with another. "Where are we going, Catherine?"

"Back to the 'Pearl.' I am the only one who can possibly help save them from the Kraken, I will tell you what I know on our way there."

"If we should die…" 

"We won't."

"Catherine. If we should, let me just say that I have never loved a human being more than I love you, when we married, or even at this moment."

We embraced quickly but passionately, then headed out of the Gryffin's rooms.

Will opened the double doors slowly, and I passed through them, sure I would never be in those rooms again.

There were no pirates on the deck, they had probably all been ordered to their barracks until further notice, but I wondered how much longer they would wait for the Gryffin that would never come, so I swiftly made my way to the edge of the boat, along which longboats and rowboats were strung, ready to be lowered into the water.

"A rowboat would be quicker," Will said, and he stepped into one and helped me sit on the opposite seat. We each grabbed a lowering rope, and began to lower ourselves into the calm blue water below.

Will grabbed the oars, and rowed as fast as he could in the opposite direction from "The Seven Deadly Sins," the direction in which we knew "The Black Pearl" lay, a sitting duck for the Kraken's mighty tentacles.

I began to speak quickly of what I had seen from other attacks, what we could do, but too soon we arrived at the "Pearl," and quickly climbed the netting, and stood on deck, where everyone was just sitting, given up to their fate.

Mr. Gibbs soon spotted us – how could he not? We were the only ones moving. He came toward me with a sad look in his eyes, but before he could speak, I did.

"You need to load all your cannons, get every man a weapon – a knife, a sword, a spear, as long as it's sharp. We also need something quite large to explode, the Kraken's tentacles will come aboard the ship, and we can blow some of them away. It may not kill him, but it will certainly stun him. Do we have anything, any gun powder, that would explode?"

Elizabeth had overheard the conversation, and stepped up to the three of us. "The rum. We can explode the rum."

Mr. Gibbs looked at her as if she had just blasphemed.

Elizabeth chastised him, "Mr. Gibbs, if we don't use it, you won't be alive to enjoy it anyway!"

Mr.Gibbs thought this over, and then called out sorrowfully, "Men! Put all the rum in the rigging, and lift it to the height of the second deck."

Several crewmen scrambled up and went down into the belly of the ship, doing as they were asked.

"Good. Then Jack can shoot it down at the right time…"

Mr. Gibbs turned red.

Will spoke up then, "Mr. Gibbs, what happened?"

"Jack Sparrow has… deserted the ship," Mr. Gibbs mumbled.

My eyes flew to Elizabeth, she steeled her face, but tears still welled up in her eyes and spilled over onto her face. I took her hand between the two of mine, and moved to her side, just as she burst out into sobs, and practically collapsed on me. I held her up, and put my arms around her as she buried her face in my shoulder.

"We will make do without him," Will said in a determined voice. "Catherine, you watch the cannons, and make sure they don't go off too soon, I'll stand on deck and tell everyone when the Kraken has raised it's tentacles enough to attack. Mr Gibbs, we'll count on you to shoot down the rum at the right moment."

Elizabeth suddenly rose up from my shoulder, and wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand. "No. I will shoot the rum. Just let me know when it needs to be done. I will shoot."

Will and I exchanged wary glances, then I spoke up. "Right then. Elizabeth will shoot the rum. Mr. Gibbs? Can we count on you to be among the men with the swords?"

Mr. Gibbs made a saluting gesture, and began to go around the crewmen, instructing some to prepare the cannons, while others went in search of any sharp weapon they could find.

In a few minutes we were at our places. Elizabeth stood at the helm, the gun trembling in her hand, Will took his place among the men with weapons, but stood a little behind them, to communicate more easily with me as I stood on the stairs between the deck and the cannons.

Everyone waited in a terrified silence for what seemed like an eternity, when suddenly the ship stopped, and an almighty shudder shook us all.

"It's here!" I shouted up to Will, who relayed the message to Elizabeth, and backed up so I could see him from the stairway. We locked eyes, possibly saying good luck, possibly saying our final goodbyes.


	18. The Beginning of the End

We watched in horror as huge tentacles began to inch up the side of the ship, each with hundreds of suction cups that expanded once they hit the open air. It was terrifying, as I stood behind a cannon manned by Pintel and Ragetti, watching a tentacle block the viewing window, its suctions expanding into the narrow space between the cannon and the edge of the window.

"Will?" I yelled, the worry evident in my voice.

"Just… a bit… more….!" He answered back, then, a second later, "FIRE!!!"

"NOW!!" I screamed to the men at the cannons, who immediately shot the first cannonball into the Kraken's tentacles. "RELOAD!" I yelled, and ran up the stairs to see how the men on deck were faring. The tentacles that had risen now had spears sticking out of them, and the men were hacking away with axes and swords. The ship shuddered again as the cannons refired, and the tentacles recoiled, than fell into the water.

"Everyone to the deck!" I shouted down the stairs, and watched as the men abandoned their posts, grabbed their weapons, and ran up the stairs, going to the other port side of the ship, ready for the next bout.

This is where the tentacles would start to come aboard, wrapping themselves around unfortunate victims and dragging them to the sea. This is where we would hit the majority of the Kraken with the rum explosion, so I looked over Elizabeth's way, as our eyes met and she nodded slowly, releasing the catch on the gun and preparing to shoot.

I looked toward the netting, filled with caskets of rum, and was horrified to see that, in their haste, someone had set it so that it kept rising and rising, and an explosion that was too high wouldn't help anyone. I started to make my way across the deck, when I felt something slimy wrap around my ankle, then pulled back with a jerk.

"NO!" I screamed, and tried to grab anything, anything I could hold on to and pull against the tentacle's dragging. My fingers scratched uselessly across the deck – I was nearing the edge of the ship – and suddenly I lay still. I looked up and saw Ragetti standing over me, a bloodied axe in his hands. I let out a great shuddering sigh, and grabbed Ragetti's hand, which he had offered to help me get up.

"Ragetti – you saved my life."

"Aw, it was nuthin'." He grinned, and ran off to attack another tentacle that was crawling on the across the ship's deck.

I reached down to my foot and removed the end of the tentacle with carefully, not wanting to touch it too much, and then resumed my path to the rigged and rising rum.

I caught the bottom of its netting, and began to climb up around the side, drawing my sword with difficulty and beginning to cut through the many ropes that held the netting together.

"Elizabeth!" I yelled over my shoulder. "Shoot when I say!"

The net was almost free, and tentacles were swarming below me. I lost a few precious seconds when another tentacle made its way around my ankle, and I chopped myself free again.

"TAKE COVER!" I screamed to the sailors, who hit the deck and covered their heads. I saw Will at the starboard side of the ship. He had seen me there, waving precariously, but reluctantly covered himself as my sword began to cut through the last thread.

My sword now had made it all the way through, and I held on to the top half of the rope while the rum was sent tumbling to the ground. "NOW!!!"

The boom of a shotgun rang through the air, followed by the louder noise of the rum caskets exploding in unison. I continued to climb the rope quickly, as I felt the heat rise beneath me.

I looked down, and watched as the flames quickly abated, till there were just a few flickering pieces of fire on the deck. I couldn't hold on to the rope any longer; my hands burned as they slid down the length of it until I was grasping nothing, and falling toward the deck.

It seemed as if Will had made it across the deck with lightning speed, he caught me, but the force of the impact from such a high fall made him collapse beneath me, and I ended up on top of him, face to face.

His eyes were closed, and I quickly straddled him across his stomach, and leaned down to put my cheek against his mouth, to see if I could feel his breath.

I felt something better, though, as Will kissed me there, and I turned to him fully and framed his face in my hands. "You're so stupid!" I cried.

"Talk about stupidity!" But he raised himself up so we were both kneeling on the deck, and threw his arms around me, as I did the same, then he leaned back a little and began to kiss me all around the face. "You're alive! You're alive!" he said between kisses.

I held my hand up to his lips. "So are you…" and brought my lips to his.

After we parted, something caught my gaze over his shoulder, and I gasped.

"What is it?" Will said, worried, but I just stood up, taking him up with me, and pointed to the helm of the ship.

Jack Sparrow had not abandoned his ship after all – nor had he abandoned Elizabeth. The two of them were standing there, entwined in each others' arms, the shotgun hanging from Jack's right forefinger. We turned to give them some privacy, and watched the crew slowly raise up from their crouching positions. Some, however, did not rise at all. I quickly removed my cap to the sailors that had helped us fight bravely against the Kraken, and had lost their lives so that a few of us might live.

Mr. Gibbs, looking incredibly beaten and weary, walked up to me. "D'you think we killed it?"

I heard Jack's voice from behind call, "No. We just made it really, really angry. You have all got to get off this ship," he pointed to the longboat which he had initially escaped in. "

There was a murmuring assent, and everyone began to gather supplies- blankets, lanterns, food, and stock the longboat. We all began to climb into it, exhausted, till Jack and Elizabeth were the only ones remaining on "The Black Pearl's" deck.

"He's the one with the black spot…" I thought, and stood up again to see what was happening on deck, my head poking over the edge.

Jack was handing Elizabeth a pair of handcuffs, then moved his lips to words I couldn't hear. Elizabeth looked at him in shock, but then nodded briskly after a couple of seconds. The two kissed suddenly, held together for ten seconds, and then Jack held out his arm.

Elizabeth slowly latched one of the cuffs onto it, and, as tears spilled down her face, latched the other to the metal ring around the mast of "The Black Pearl."

"Oh my God," I whispered, and slowly sat back down.

Moments later, Elizabeth swung her leg around the edge of the boat, and I mad some room for her on the longboat's seat.

"Where's Jack?" Mr. Gibbs asked, his gruff tone suddenly had a shade of worry.

"He… decided to remain behind. To save us all." She ducked her head, trying to hide her red and swollen eyes from the rest of us on the boat. Will looked at her strangely, and then leaned forward slightly to look at me, his eyes filled with confusion. I shook my head slightly, and took Elizabeth's hand, squeezing slightly to comfort her. She continued to look straight ahead, as Pintel and Ragetti took the oars up, and began to row fiercely toward the nearest shore, which we could see the edge of.

As we neared the bank, I could tell we were on familiar ground – a small channel opened up, surrounded on both sides by towering trees. We entered the channel, I jumped a bit as I realized that there seemed to be people standing in the water, holding candles aloft, and singing gloomily.

We reached Tia Dalma's house soon after, and Pintel slowly edged the boat up to her platform, then tied the rope to a post there. We all filed out of the boat, those of us who were left from the Kraken's attack: Will, Elizabeth, Mr. Cotton, Marty, Pintel, Ragetti, Mr. Gibbs, and I. I thought quickly of the many souls lost to the Kraken's wrath, not only from "The Black Pearl," but from every boat I had seen sunk, from every ship that the Kraken's deadly tentacles crushed. I added Jack Sparrow to my mental list, and climbed the latter to the "porch" of Tia Dalma's house.

We all entered the shack, in single file. Tia Dalma didn't speak a word, until Mr. Gibbs roughly spoke, "'The Black Pearl' is gone… and Captain Jack Sparrow with her."

I think that's when it all hit us. Everyone sank into a chair, or leaned against a wall for support, both physically and mentally exhausted from the day.

Mr. Gibbs' gruff voice spoke out again, "God's blood, it's never going to be the same, the sea without Jack Sparrow. You don't come across his type very often."

I silently agreed, thinking of only my contact with the man, from my kidnapping at 11, to my rescue at 21.

"I'd do anything to have him be alive and sailing the seas again…" Mr. Gibbs finished. His voice choked with the effort of talking around tears.

"Anything?" Tia Dalma broke the silence. "You would do anyt'ing for him, you say. Would you sail d t'rough weird waters and stranger winds? Would you encounter the strangest t'ings in de world? Would you sail to de ends of de eart' to get back de wicked Jack?" It was clear that she was quite serious, that she wasn't just speaking hypothetically.

"Aye!" Mr. Gibbs' voice spoke first.

"Aye!" Pintel and Ragetti said in chorus.

"Aye!" Marty shouted, his tone rising above his small stature.

Glancing at each other, Will and I made an unspoken agreement. "Aye." We spoke together, the harmony of our voices ringing through the small room.

"Aye…" Elizabeth whispered softly, as Mr. Cotton's parrot squawked out, "When do we sail? When do we sail?"

Tia Dalma nodded grimly, "Den you'll need a captain who can sail such waters." She rose her arm and rapped twice on the low ceiling.

We heard footsteps, and then a door opened above our heads, and the footsteps came closer, going down the set of steps in Tia's small house.

Everyone turned around eagerly, ready to see who would be leading us now.

A tall man, wearing a large black hat, and dressed in full pirate regalia, cockily took the last step. His eyes were tinged yellow, his skin was pockmarked. He raised a fresh apple up to his lips, and took a large bite as a small monkey sat on his shoulder.

After swallowing, he spoke, his words accented with a pirate's drawl. "So. What's become of my ship?"


End file.
